A life-changing piece of equipment, the Chill-Out Chair, allows 7-year-old Leonardo Smith and his family to eat dinner together.
“I can actually sit down to eat my food,” said Leo’s mom Amelia Lawrence, “I know that sounds crazy, but nobody really ever considers if one of your children has oropharyngeal dysphagia or swallow dysfunction and poor airway clearance, that if it’s family meal time, mom is going to have to keep them in position with her hand and feed them and all that. Now I can just pull him up to the table and I can sit down and eat my food.”
Lawrence says her son’s cerebral palsy diagnosis affects every aspect of his life. Holding a spoon, sitting up, and controlling his muscles are more difficult for him.
“I can sit there and talk to my kid now. And the big thing in feeding therapy is that eating is not just nutrition, it’s social,” she said, “So being home and getting to sit with your family and have him learn table manners, it’s been really nice.”
Despite the diagnosis Lawrence said her son Leo is “hilarious and a prankster” who loves to help her cook and is overall “just a really cool kid.”
Leo received his Chill-Out Chair before Christmas of 2024, covered through a Tennessee insurance plan.
“The only other choices were this contraption that looked like a medical device. It looked like something from a hospital, big and bulky and metal,” said Lawrence.
They had tried multiple options before discovering the Chill-Out Chair, many of which were unsafe for Leo due to his epilepsy and sensory issues. Hitting his head on a hard part of a typical activity chair became a hazard. The Chill-Out Chair being made of a 100 per cent foam core solved this issue for them.
“God forbid, I turned around because my four-year-old needed something, and he started seizing. If he was in a typical feeding chair, he could break a bone in his face. He has gotten bruises and injuries on his pelvis from freaking out about being in the highchairs,” said Lawrence, “The Chill-Out Chair, all the places where his head would go are soft. So, there’s nothing he would get hurt on, and it’s put in such a way that his airway stayed open.”
Another option they tried was an adaptive chair resembling a highchair.
“He has issues speaking loudly or articulating, because of his stroke, but he was able to get out ‘I’m not a baby’, so that one was out,” she said, “And then I see this Freedom Concepts Chill-Out Chair, and I’m like, that is like an easy chair, and it’s going to keep his hips in the right position and his head up.”
Leo uses his chair for more than just eating properly, he uses it as a tool when taking his medication, as a place to stretch, and a place to chill-out.
“It’s literally for everything. We start our day with it. In the morning, Leo has to take 9 different medications, and he has to be seated upright to take them, or it doesn’t work. The positioning of the chair, his muscles work better,” she said.
Once he has taken his medication fluid builds up and they need to perform airway clearance, still while in the chair. Because of the angle of the chair Lawrence said they find they have less risk for aspiration.
“He’s safe eating in it and can be calm. Plus, if he chokes, that airway is going to stay straight, and it’s going to be easier to help him, whereas, if he was just sitting in one that was like a high back booster or just like *another brand’s* feeding chair, it would be really, really hard to get to his throat,” said Lawrence, “We kind of need that slight tilt as he doesn’t really have trunk control.”
Lawrence said Leo is proud of his chair, and he likes to show it to people who come over.
“I don’t know many kids his age that would be like, ‘oh no, I don’t want a cool, bright dinosaur green chair.’ That’s pretty awesome.”
One of the most special things about the Chill-Out Chair according to Lawrence is it has given her kids the opportunity to bond more because it provides a safe space for Leo.
“His sister had absconded with her brother in the chair all the way to the back of our apartment, and they were hiding under a blanket with him in the Chill-Out Chair, and her sitting next to him eating cookies,” laughed Lawrence. “That was just like, the cutest moment ever, because we always have to say ‘nice hands with him, don’t touch his back. Don’t touch his braces. Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t.’ And this one time, they got to just be regular siblings, she got to kidnap her brother in a Chill-Out Chair.”
When asked what she wanted other parents to know about the Chill-Out Chair Lawrence declared it was “life changing.”
“I feel like there are hundreds of moms like me out there that stand and don’t eat their dinner and don’t get breaks. I used to be a single mom and dealt with this all on my own. There are people out there like me that letting them sit down and eat a meal, or have a glass of water, or have their coffee while it’s still hot, and having their kids feeding tube be okay, and letting that feed run. Sitting there and watching a show with your kid and not worrying about them aspirating because their airway is crunched over because they’re sitting in a messed-up chair or lying on your couch, and they vomit, you know? It takes all of that stress away, and it’s just like, I have my little boy.”
“I’m starting to get glimpses of what would have happened if my child had not had a stroke.”