Carriages and Crutches

Amazing how far adaptive equipment has come the past few decades!

Why were there carriages?....

For the children. Until about 30 to 35 years ago almost all state developmental centers took in infants and children. Now it takes an act of Congress (or a friend in Congress) to get anyone under 21 admitted to a developmental center.

I think thats a good thing because kids don't belong in places like this, they belong with their parents, who need to learn how to care for and nurture them. Commitment into a place like this should only be as a last resort.

I think you'll find few people these days who don't agree with that. Now, if the states would just cough up the $$$ so's the families can keep their kiddos home longer with the resources they really need . . . .

That chair looks like it has restriants on it. Notice the big white strap looking thing.

Why do people equate straps with restraints? If someone has no trunk control and is lying in a prone device such as this and turns over, they can fall out and become severely injured if they are not secured with straps to keep them positioned correctly and safely. Good golly. If I use a seat belt (which is a big strap) in a car, am I restrained? If I use a bar across my lap when I am on a ski lift, am I restrained? If I am in a karate outfit that has a strap around it (like, say, a black belt) does that mean I'm restrained because I have a big strap around me? Jebus, people, take something for this morbid fascination with restraints. =8-o

Here, this ought to clear things up a bit...

re·straint ( P ) Pronunciation Key (r-strnt)
n.
The act of restraining or the condition of being restrained.
Loss or abridgment of freedom.
An influence that inhibits or restrains; a limitation.
An instrument or a means of restraining.
Control or repression of feelings; constraint.

sup·port ( P ) Pronunciation Key (s-pôrt, -prt)
tr.v. sup·port·ed, sup·port·ing, sup·ports
To bear the weight of, especially from below.
To hold in position so as to keep from falling, sinking, or slipping.

Actually,a seat belt is considered a safety restraint. Not bein a smart@$$......just got a ticket
"failure to wear safety restraint".

Mike E,

Excellent point! I was meaning I disliked the negative sense of restraint that people were alluding to, as in "these poor, poor people are chained to the walls, beds, toilets, gurneys, and/or geri-chairs all the time like animals with no opportunity for release, oh those feckin' brutish staff" as opposed to "these folks may have needed a restraint strap as a supportive device to help maintain their posture or position for comfort or safety," as in Dr. Sketch's definition of 5/18/06. :-)

Lynne, why do you take this so personal all the time?

Boo - I'll give you a simple answer to that; Lynne takes this very personally because she's an employee of a State Hospital and would like to do her part to clear up some of the gross misconceptions laymen seem to have about the mental health care giving field.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Serrena. :-)

Boo, if you are ever in the situation where you are forced to depend on others due to being in a fragile state (whether of your own making or not), you will wish there was someone in your corner taking personally what people say who don't have the first idea what they are talking about. Until you've been there you won't understand. That's both about living there and about working there. These aren't always fun places to work and they are places that very few of us (if any) would choose to live for more than a brief time. I believe that people should have accurate information about how these places used to be (both good and bad) and about how they currently are (both good and bad). It is bad enough that one of us might end up needing inpatient psychiatric services some day. Having false information about what happens there is not likely to allay any fears. I have seen as many bigoted, uninformed comments here as anywhere about people with psychiatric and intellectual disabilities, and since they pay my salary, it behooves me to try to do a little public education on the side. Feel free to read right over my personal comments. It won't bother me the least little bit. :-)

Motts~
I have to tell you, I had no idea til I saw your site, how many hospitals and facilities there were and are, that were built to care for people with T.B., mental illness, and all the other things mentioned on your site.
Your pictures make the viewer imagine what it might have been like to be a patient or employee at any of these places.
To walk these many halls and live in these many rooms.
To try to imagine what it may have been like to walk in their shoes.
It's also interesting to be able to read the history of them as well as your experience in them.
And Lynne~ Your knowledge in this field, along with the many others who also know from personal experience and have shared what they know, help educate those of us, like myself, understand a little better what it was like to be behind these walls.
Thanks to all of you. : )

I think I'll go take my grandchild for a walk and "restrain" her in her stroller. : )

Wonderful posts, Lynne & Ladyhawke! Very, very insightful.

Straps, restraints, support, whatever you want to call them, they were and are used for one purpose. To keep the patient in their gosh darn seat! Some patients are violent and some are simply weak. Nonetheless, rules were different back then compared to now. Nowadays, you can get sued for simply looking at someone in a "wrong" way. Hospitals and institutions must be very careful on how they handle and speak about their patients. Also, some people get very easily insulted on how you describe a certain situation, so please be careful and unfortunately, you must always walk on eggshells because there is always someone out there just dying to get on your case for insensitivity.

To sum it all up, they for the paitents protection and to cause no harm to them. Infact could prevent harm coming their way. Like safety belts, just like safety belts. I mean you strap your baby in a stroller or carseat, so why not think of that protection for everyone that may need it.

Thanks, Michele. : )

to comment on some comments : Lynn thank God for people like you,you do matter to those you care for and there families. Bless You.

some people are not sure about certain things about mental health past or present i've worked in residentional care with children with autism aged between 8 and 18 years old for 4 years now if a memember of the genral public asks me a question i answer them in the best way i can if you have never worked in this type of work it is very easy to make mistakes great comments lynne

Such a jumble.....

Lynne-the average joe doesn`t know anthing about this subject. Chill out. And yes there are developmental centers run by the public schools in the midwest. They are year round and a normal school day. The children under 26 live at home or group homes.