VA, in partnership with U.S. Paralympics is sponsoring the Inaugural Adaptive Sports Training Conference April 2013 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Participants will engage in open discussions about the benefits of sports and recreation among Veterans with disabilities, including PTSD and TBI, identify resources needed to implement successful sports programs at VA facilities and connect with community-based organizations.
Dr Jeffrey Heckman was chosen to fill one of 50 available slots, travel and accommodations will be covered courtesy of VA. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, VA Puget Sound Health Care System- Seattle Division, will learn how to position Hanaford's Adaptive Motor Sports program to be recognized Adaptive Dport In Rehabilitation, via the World's first racecar driving experience for persons with disabilities where they actually get to be in control and not just a passenger
National Adaptive Sports Training Conference April 25-28, will focus on Rehabilitation and the 50 invited guest, will receive tools and resources to enhance Adaptive Sports and Recreation programs for Veteran's within the VA health care system and learn about opportunities for collaboration and partnerships with adaptive community sports and recreation organizations. Dr Heckman reports, "Really great conference, waiting to hear back from Director regarding contacts at NASCAR, but he thinks there are previous relationships with the VA....all good stuff"
VA Office Director of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special events said last year, "Im looking forward to having these VA professionals from around the country come together for a week of learning and sharing. I beleive that if we can help get more veterans and active duty members involved in adaptive sports then we truly can redefine Veterans wellness"
Today Community based adaptive sports programs are partnering with the VA to welcome disabled Veterans into local sports programs. Research shows that disabled Vets who participate in adaptive sports have increased self esteem, improve health, lead healthier and active lives.
Plymouth NH Hanaford Adaptive Motorsports & Wellness is designed as a one day event program which consist of four components: 1) Training on a skills course using an adapted car focusing on high speed braking using hand controls; 2) Handling and maneuvering drills using a car with an adapted steering wheel; 3) Driving simulator with adapted steering wheel and hand controls; and 4) Adapted stock car racing around a short track with hand controls, adapted steering wheel and a professional driver in the passenger seat with a steering wheel and speed controls.
Finally, Dr Heckman measures participants therapeutic outcomes with a Psychological Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS) to assess the effects of the program on functional independence, well-being, and quality of life.
All participants reported a positive impact following the event and PIADS showed highly positive results in participants’ competence, adaptability, and self-esteem scores with the greatest impact on the adaptability score. This is the first report of the effects of an adaptive motor sports program on amputees. We showed that using appropriate safety measures, training and assistive technology, amputees can participate in adaptive motor sports with profound effects. This provides a unique perspective to addressing psychological issues, including decreased self-esteem.
VXP Driving Simulator is a gaming wheel which has been modified with hand controls in place of traditional foot pedals. This serious game was designed to evaluate, train, and qualify individuals with little experience or those who require special adaptations related to injury, disability, or loss function via the virtual world.
VXP driving simulator rehabilitation benefits are supported by recent research findings reported by innovations in VirtualSim Rehab, LLC. These studies show that Virtual Reality / Simulation games and software, such as those used in the VXP driving simulator, can have a significant impact and improve motor and coordination skills needed for driving and to participate in the highly popular Accessible Racing Experience.
Rehabilitation of patients with neurological and physical disorders poses a significant challenge to the medical community. Current methodologies are reclusive in nature and require a significant time commitment for effective neurorehabilitation to occur. These treatment modalities are repetitious and tedious, making it difficult for the patient to sustain interest over long periods of time. This frequently leads to decreased motivation and participation with therapeutic treatments and limited compliance with home therapy regimens, which may adversely affect the potential functional outcome and level of functional independence that can be achieved.
The effective use of Virtual Reality and Simulation tools, offer a long term cutting edge alternative to prevalent treatment. Initial research studies in gross motor gesture analysis demonstrate a high correlation between virtual simulated tasks and functional daily life skill. For example, components of Wii™ boxing have been matched specifically to self feeding. These studies reveal that improvement in skill in the simulated task, although technically different, translates to improvement in the daily life task. This research also indicates a significant increase in active participation, motivation, and compliance with virtual reality and therapeutic simulation tasks leading to increased rate of recovery and return to independent living.
The Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist faces similar challenges. A client afflicted with Cerebral Palsy, for example, often requires 40 or more hours of one to one clinical and behind the wheel training and instruction. It is difficult to recruit family to assist with this extensive training due to a need for a dual braking system in the vehicle. Lengthy one to one training at an hourly rate is not cost effective for the private pay client and is often not reimbursed by Medicare or most insurance companies. The VXP™ partnered with Accessible Racing offers a low cost off the shelf solution to deliver “State of the Art” evaluation and treatment that can maximize resource utilization, decrease cost, increase revenue, and improve driving skill and function in a decreased length of time. It is a perfect adjunct to any Drivers Education or Rehabilitation Program.
The VXP™ utilizes an inexpensive off the shelf Logitech Force Feedback Racing Wheel that has been modified to allow adaptability and versatility during evaluation and training for individualized client needs and goals. It has capability to be equipped with a variety of hand control and steering devices to allow independent use for those with limited or impaired upper and lower extremity function. Various software programs are available that offer therapeutic simulation exercises to address a wide range of functional pre-driving skills including: reaction timing, visual processing time, eye hand coordination, proprioception/kinesthesia, dynamic sitting balance, gross and fine motor coordination/dexterity, multistep direction following, accident avoidance skills and other significant executive functioning skills.
As indicated in current research, simulation devices and activities like the VXP™ are engaging and fun. Clients display increased motivation and participation in the treatment and have significantly increased sustained attention to the task as opposed to conventional therapeutic methods. There is opportunity for the client to perform part of the training independently and for family and friends to participate. SD card technology allows the therapist or CDRS to track time, monitor progress and upgrade the home rehab program.
Virtual Reality and Therapeutic simulation modalities such as VXP™ are:
- Engaging and fun
- Improve client and clinician satisfaction
- Increase motivation and compliance with home programs
- Improve functional performance in daily life skills
- Improve pre driving skills
- Increase family, caregiver, friend involvement and participation in rehabilitation process
- Increase patient to therapist ratios
- Decrease length of recovery time, increase revenue, decrease cost
- Offer opportunity to utilize versatile, low cost, off the shelf technology
- Offer opportunity for ambient monitoring and SD card tracking
Conversations regarding victims of the Boston Marathon bombing & benefits of VXP driving simulator to help transition virtual world driving skill sets to real world applications at Spaulding Rehabilitation hospital.
AS SEEN ON TV : http://tinyurl.com/a6vrya6
Adapted Racecar with safety features address immediate issues with VXP Driving Simulator and offer Consulting services to develop local programs for persons with disabilities, Consulting services for production of adapted race car with safety features & Established partnerships with driver’s rehabilitation technology companies and software engineersCUSTOMERSDisabled Funding Sources, National Adaptive Sports Training, VA Volunteer Service Committee's, Charitable Foundations, Gaming Companies that service disabled community http://tinyurl.com/793y5yw , Corporate Branding, sponsorship, advertising, sale incentives, apparel sales to benefit the end user.Veterans (and civilians) who have suffered an injury resulting in trauma related injuries including limb loss, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, among others.
With over 54 million disabled Veterans and civilians in the United States and more then 300 million around the world, Hanaford Adaptive Motorsports end users are multifold:
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ADAPTIVE TECHNOWLEGY
- Adapted Racecar Modifications include: a removable outer body panel exposing a door opening in the frame, and a custom designed seat base that moves fore and aft and swivels out into the door opening for transfer into the car. Due to the variety of special needs to drive for individuals with disability there are multiple options for control including: conventional steering wheel and a left foot gas pedal; manual hand controls (a fold up pedal blocker plate is used with manual hand controls to prevent inadvertent leg interference with the pedals); and electric gas and brake controller. All drivers electrically operate the automatic transmission
The steering column is easily modified with different configurations of wheels for different levels of disabilities to adjust for driver’s needs. The steering gear box is modified with reduced effort steering and there is a tandem vacuum booster master cylinder to make it easier to stop the car. Both the steering and the brake systems have automatically back up systems in case of OEM failures such as fluid loss, vacuum loss or electrical issues. Lastly, on the passenger side of the vehicle there is dual steering, brake and gas with switch controls for turning off the engine and activating the back up systems
VXP powered by iRacing is complementary hardware and software solution to developing hand / eye coordination and muscle memory that seamlessly transition to real world applications NEEDED to reintegrate into society. Rehabilitation characteristics benefit any patient in the hospital for any extended period of time. VXP powered by iRacing.com software delivers shared recreational activity and skill sets to reintegrate into society
World Mobility Challenge, in line with Dan Pallotta's 3 day bike ride for AIDS and 3 day walk for Breast Cancer layered with inceptive gifts for ambulatory and disabled persons to work together towards raising funds to provide adaptive motorsports solutions.
STRATEGY
- SOFTWARE: We are striving to develop relationships with driver’s rehabilitation technology companies and software engineers to develop new use to existing product, for instance CRREL S.A.V.E program, http://tinyurl.com/cmok2vx
- INSURANCE: National network structured same way as Disabled Sports USA muscle powered insurance umbrella to provide discounted rate to individual local-regional-and national chapters via our policy with Davis Insurance
- BLUE PRINT DESIGN: The safety and structural design has been a long process, but good news is it is approved by 2 national sanctioning series and we will share with members so they can own this cutting edge product, marketing tools and contacts we developed in past 5 years.
- NETWORK: National Marketing Network, consisting of Mobility Dealers, Adaptive Sports Organizations, VA hospitals & Model Rehabilitations hospitals and shared activities link to these programs below
- SAVING $ & LIVES: Driver Skills Development Program develop the driving skill sets and muscle memory to avoid an accident using 100% of the cars capabilities, and to anticipate and respond to emergency situations. We have been able to develop safe fun atmosphere in a closed parking lot with plastic cones. These are life saving skills not taught by regular Drivers Education. With the assistance of Cooperative Insurance in the state of Vermont, and vetted in a study conducted by the Vermont Center For Justice Research, Dan Sheppard's Driver Skills Development Program proven program can reduce the automobile crash rate by 50%. A program that Cooperative Insurance, as well as the Vermont Youth Safety Council feel so strongly about, they pay for their employees and policy holders to attend
FAST TRACK and Andy Hillenburg have been delivering some of the BEST racing experiences foe nearly 25 years that are remembered for a lifetime! Whether you choose a driving experience, the 2 Day Advanced Oval or the Advanced Driver Development Program, Fast Track is the leader in the industry and has a program fit for you and your guests! All programs are personally designed by Andy Hillenburg and offer the most fun and educational value, at some of the world’s most popular tracks! http://tinyurl.com/d2cy4no
THE RACE SCHOOL, Rick Nelson: All racetrack staff are past or current professional race-drivers. Small and Personal class size, on and off the track. Thorough 45 minute team orientation by a professional team-leader. Your team leader instructor will actually teach you how to drive faster than you ever thought you could- Safely! Constant radio contact with your spotter during your track time to relax and guide your experience! Drive at your own comfort level, there is no pace car to follow in the typical follow-the-leader format of most other experiences. Enjoy a relaxed atmosphere; be part of a premier racing team instead of being rushed through a high volume "cattle drive". http://tinyurl.com/d5rmgk8
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