Karen worked for an Independent Living Center as an Information and Referral Specialist. She uses a walker for mobility and can’t sit in a standard office chair for longer than 15 minutes before she needs a break. Her employer took the initiative and purchased her a motorized desk and office chair combination. Both the desk and chair can be controlled electronically to provide necessary positioning support.
Since the desk and chair were expensive, Karen was hesitant to tell her employer that the accommodation was quite right. The chair is very large and heavy and Karen was unable to get into the chair and position it in front of the desk by herself. So, she would sit in the chair and then wait for a co-worker to come by and move the chair into position so she could access her work station.
Advancing Opportunities’ Assistive Technology Department was called in and after making an evaluation, the team decided to create a custom solution for Karen. A large, heavy duty “lazy susan” was constructed under the chair that allowed Karen to swivel the chair easily to seat herself and then swivel back to face her computer. When completed this accommodation blended nicely with the desk/chair combination and provided Karen with a level of independence that she deserved.