To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is in regards to Jane Doe, an eight year old girl with a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Jane has been followed at the Neuro-Developmental Clinic at Anywhere Hospital by Dr. Jones since she was about six months of age. She began receiving physical, occupational and speech therapies through early intervention and continues to receive these services on an out-patient basis at Anywhere School. She has special education services through the Anywhere school system where she receives all three therapy services as well. Jane has made steady gains in her motor abilities over the years. She is able to hold her head up well. She can sit without using her arms for support with only occasional loss of balance. She needs minimal assistance to pull to standing from a position seated on a bench when holding onto a railing. She is able to actively mover her arms and legs but tends to use patterns of movement without isolated movement at all joints. She especially likes to stiffen her arms and legs and kick. Jane will occasionally roll from her stomach to her back and her back to her stomach. She is able to make some consonant sounds and will use some single words, mostly in imitation. Due to her severe motor planning problems she is not able to use her voice consistently to express her needs. She is unable to summon help vocally.

Jane is presently using a full sized bed with railings to prevent her from rolling out. Jane can be quite active in bed forcefully kicking her feet up and down as a form of stimulation. She requires a larger sized bed to prevent injury from kicking the railings o the bed. The bed Jane currently uses is too low for her parents to lift and move her up in the bed as they have to lean over excessively. It is especially difficult for them to use her bed fro dressing her and changing her. They have to lean far over which puts them in an awkward position with the potential for back injuries. Both parents have had minor back problems in the past from lifting Jane. With her increasing size (she currently weighs about 45 pounds), the risk of injury is becoming more of an issue. In addition to the problems associated with moving Jane in the bed, there the problem with transferring her in and out of the bed as well. Her current bed is too high for a stand pivot transfer but too low to safely and easily lift her out of the bed. With the way her railings are attached, one has to lift Jane up and over which is more difficult than just moving her straight over. With her motor problem, Jane does not assist with the transfers by holding on.

There is yet another problem with her present bed. Because of her kicking and moving in the bed, there is the possibility of Jane getting her legs stuck in between the railings and the mattress. With her forceful kicking, there is potential for injury as well. With her speech delays, Jane might not be able to alert her parents if she is trapped or injured.

Because Jane is quite social and enjoys interaction with others, we feel that she would feel confined if she was unable to see out. Also her family would feel more secure if they were able to easily look in to check on her.

The Sleep Safe II Hi Lo bed is recommended for her. This bed has sides that are high enough to prevent her from being able to fall over the top when sitting. The bed itself adjusts in height from the floor making it safer and easier for her parents to transfer in and out of the bed. Her parents can also position the bed so that it would be at an optimum height to help work with transitions from supine into sitting. With the adjustable height, Jane will have the opportunity to assist with stand pivot transfers. It has clear acrylic panels that allow her to be able to look out and also allows caregivers the ability to look in and check on her. The mattress is fully enclosed with no large gaps thus significantly decreasing the risk of entrapment. She will also need the full size to allow more room for her to move around.

Because of her cerebral palsy, Jane is in immediate need of a bed that will allow her to be as safe as possible when sleeping to prevent the risk of injuries from entrapment. She also needs a bed of an appropriate height that will allow her parents to be able to transfer her as safely as possible. With her mother currently in a high risk pregnancy, there will be more caretakers assisting with transferring Jane. This bed will make it much safer for Jane to be transferred and cared for. Please contact us if you should need any additional information to support this request.