Science lessons have just got a whole lot easier for two disabled pupils at Aberdare's Blaengwawr Comprehensive School thanks to a piece of innovative thinking by staff at Remploy Furniture
Lauren Davies, 11, and Gail Smith, 14, have cerebral palsy, leaving both girls unable to support themselves while seated for any length of time.
Lessons in most classrooms posed little problem but the science labs are furnished with tall stools without backs, making things extremely difficult for both girls.
However, Remploy has now come to the rescue after a chance conversation between school bursar Elizabeth Morris and Remploy area sales manager Leanne Hirst led the educational furniture supplier to modify its popular MX05 laboratory stool to incorporate arms and a back to provide the girls with the necessary physical support.
"The school is a valued customer to Remploy," says Leanne.
"The bursar mentioned that she was looking for a lab stool with arms to support the school's disabled children but had been unable to find anything and so I suggested I'd speak to our manufacturing people to see if it was possible to modify our stool in any way".
Remploy's engineering experts came up with a solution that involved grafting on the arms from another product, something that could be done relatively easily as Remploy manufactures the majority of its products within its own UK factories.
Remploy's intervention has marked the end of a long and often frustrating search for Morris: "The school is very conscious of the needs of its disabled pupils and so I've been searching for a product like this for some time.
"Remploy has managed to do what other companies wouldn't even talk about.
"We asked several other companies if they could do it and they all said it couldn't be done, but when I spoke with Leanne she said 'that's do-able and we shall do it' - and she did".
The new stool has made a huge difference to the girls as they no longer stand out from the other pupils in the classroom.
Lauren in particular is benefiting after finally being able to discard the bulky and conspicuous specially adapted chair that she has relied upon until now.
"The school was thrilled we were able to help," says Leanne, "and it feels nice to be doing something like this to help two young girls feel the same as all of their friends when they are in class".
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term for neurological disorders that cause physical disability in human development, specifically human movement and posture, and it affects thousands of babies and children each year.
