Many wheelchair users have limited ability to keep their head upright, and many wheelchairs lack sufficient head support. Poor head support for these wheelchair users leads to functional difficulties including swallowing and feeding, breathing, independent mobility, and pressure sores. It also prevents them from maintaining a forward-facing gaze, impinging on their social participation and self-esteem by stifling free communication and active engagement in society. Identifying the right head support for the user’s personal seat that meets their needs entails trying and fitting multiple costly products over time. If there is a change in the user's needs or if they switch wheelchairs, they will likely need to repeat their search. This is especially an issue among children and adolescents, who will need to undergo this process many times to accommodate their ongoing physical development and the frequent inherent changes to their assistive equipment.
Headovations has developed the HEADALOFT, the ultimate wheelchair head support attachment designed with users, caregivers, and clinicians in mind. It quickly attaches easily to nearly any headrest to safely support the head and gently hold it upright with their non-restrictive forehead arc that comes in three sizes to find the perfect fit. The high-quality material is durable and breathable to ensure user comfort, and is machine washable for caregiver convenience. The HEADALOFT is patented, crash tested, FDA- and CE-MRD certified, and simple to install, adjust, and transfer between wheelchairs, car seats, or any other seat with a headrest. For wheelchairs without an existing headrest, Headovations is currently collaborating with ALYN to co-develop HEADALOFT 360, a robust, highly adjustable universal multisystem headrest that easily attaches to any seat or wheelchair, powered or manual, and adjusts to each user’s personal support and positioning needs without needing to make any modifications to the wheelchair. It also includes attachments to provide optional occipital support as needed, a feature implemented based on recommendations by ALYN’s clinical experts.