Hi all,
I am looking for some advice. I have a young person in my class aged 7 with PMLD and complex medical needs who absolutely loves the hoist and becomes very excited before and during the process of being hoisted. They reach for the hoisting bar and the remote repeatedly, pulls the bar towards themselves and then push it away repeatedly, bounce up and down in their chair and extend as soon as their lap strap is removed.
They wear a protective head covering during every repositioning and take part in sensory integration exercises at regular intervals throughout the day to help to regulate their sensory needs in appropriate ways as advised by the physio and OT at school. We have also tried distraction techniques/fiddle toys with little success.
They are now also becoming over-excited when classmates are hoisted or they hears the hoist being moved which is distracting them from their learning - only re-engaging with an activity/interaction once the hoisting of classmate is completed.
Any ideas to make this safer for them and staff would be much appreciated! As they get bigger we foresee this becoming more of an issue - they are currently not hoisted at home.