Impact case study database

The national charity Cerebra reports that in the UK there are around half a million children and young people who are disabled, and while the range of impairments and conditions that are associated with childhood disability is wide, those with neurodevelopmental conditions form the largest group. Many of these children experience a number of impairments and co-morbidities, which result in complex medical, educational and social support needs. These needs are exacerbated as children with brain conditions often encounter barriers to taking part in activities that their typically developing peers take for granted, impacting not only on their quality of life, but also that of their parents and siblings. Regarding the Goto and Scooot devices, there are an estimated 30,000 children in the UK with Cerebral Palsy with around 99% living at home and supported by their families. Up to 45% of those are likely to have at least one serious physical impairment. The cost of bringing up a disabled child is around three times that of a non-disabled child, yet the average family income is likely to be over 20% lower than the national average (9). In this context, through its research, the Cerebra Innovation Centre has developed, evaluated and shared new inclusive approaches to design problems and provided creative, inclusive and innovative design solutions to enable participation and tackle issues families raised with us. The success of this design process have seen both Goto and Scooot launched on a commercial basis through licencing arrangements with Firefly by Lecky.

Commercial development

The Goto seat was originally designed in response to a parent request for help taking a child to the supermarket. The child was unable to sit up un-aided, but the parent was unable to push a specialist wheelchair and supermarket trolley at the same time. Initial design and prototypes were made and tested with the child in a supermarket to test suitability, support, adjustability and fit. Following an iterative range of prototypes and trials mother and child were able to shop at leisure. The story was reported in Cerebra’s quarterly magazine and sent to 15,000 homes. Many requests were made for a similar unit, so the team developed the concept and redesigned for larger scale manufacture. Three batches of 20 units were made by machine and hand and shipped to parents in UK for testing. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive with families using the seat, not only in shopping trollies, but in park swings, ride-on toys, kayaks, aeroplane seats, cafes and beaches. The support offered by the thin format, fold-flat seat enabled children with complex seating needs to participate in family and peer activities which had been unachievable before. Given the positive experiences and continued demand, the IPR was licenced to the company Lecky (NI), who collaborated with CIC to further refine the design and launch the products in December 2014 with a new brand, Firefly. The Firefly Goto seat Mark 1 consists of a largely handmade unit based very closely on the CIC design constructed from ABS sheet, CNC machine cut and hand assembled with stitched covers and straps. Given this commercial success and positive user responses Firefly subsequently reinvested £120,000 of the profit from Goto Seat Mark 1 to develop Goto Seat Mark 2, for which mass production manufacturing techniques were employed in order to produce more product at a competitive price point (see Figures 1,2,3, and Part 3, ref. iii).

Overwhelmingly positive feedback was received from the disability community, the Goto seat was enabling families to access activities they had never thought possible. The immediate success of the launch of Leckey’s subsidiary brand, Firefly, was pivotal upon the take up and success of the Goto seat with sales exceeding 13,000 units on an international basis. The Goto seat has contributed £3.5 million to the company turnover during the last five years and since the first product launch, Firefly has subsequently increased their range of therapeutic products to eight (of which the Goto remains the flagship product). Following the success of Goto, CIC and Firefly entered into a second licensing arrangement for the Scooot device (figures 4 and 5), which has been trialled and used by 40 children referred to CIC by Cerebra. Scooot was launched by Firefly commercially in 2015 and has sold 5,500 units, generating £1.6M revenue. Leckey and Firefly now employ 184 people with a turnover of £17 million, reinvesting almost £1m per year in research and development. IRP licencing arrangements with Cerebra and UWTSD continue for both products.

Benefits for Children

The Goto Seat and Scooot Seat have international sales of 13,000 and 5,500 units respectively in over 50 countries. The 13,000 Goto seats have sold primarily through private sales to families to use in supermarkets or anywhere else they needed supportive seating, although sales are also recorded with groups, therapy centres, schools and children’s hospitals, increasing further the number of children who have benefited. Additionally, it was evidenced that supermarkets were falling short of obligations to provide suitable seating for families with disabled children and a national campaign was launched by Firefly, with Cerebra’s support, to persuade supermarkets to use the Goto Shop, comprising of a fixed Goto seat which has developed with trolley manufacturer Wanzle. The Goto Shop is required as when a child with a disability outgrows the infant seat of a traditional shopping trolley, the portable Goto is not suitable for use. There is currently no safe or suitable alternative. The Goto Shop is an adapted shopping trolley suitable for younger children who require extra postural and head support. To date, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Marks and Spenser, Aldi, Dunnes Stores and Morrisons have supplied 3,500 units for their customers in UK. A companion Goto Finder application enables families to find a supermarket close to them with a Goto Shop. Goto shop has also been adopted by supermarkets in France and Germany and Wegmans in USA.

Figure 6. Goto Shop (courtesy of Firefly)

A significant increase in wellbeing is demonstrated within those families by being able to discover and explore the world together, with fewer boundaries and greater integration, something most people take for granted. Many of the children within this demographic have additional complex needs such as sensory and physical deficiencies; as such, an activity as benign as shopping, offers a huge range of sensory input, as well as inclusion, integration and interaction with people and society. Their level of wellbeing is increased in such activities. User feedback from families’ records that they have been empowered to undertake activities, attend events and even long-haul holidays with minimal additional equipment to support their child. Activities such as shopping, kayaking, ride-on toys, park swings, car journeys, sitting in a sand pit with a sibling and having a haircut have been made possible by the addition of the Goto seat to the family. Almost any situation where sitting is required can be adapted using the Goto seat to give a safe and supported seating solution. Typical feedback is characterised by the following statements:

• “We finally have a supermarket with a GoTo Shop trolley, Maggie loved it! Well done Tesco, thanks for the inclusion. No more struggling to get Maggie's splinted legs in and out of the normal trolley holes! Check out that smile!”

• "For the first time ever, he was able to have his own seat at the kitchen table. Today he sat and ate so well, and was then able to sit with the other kids watching Frozen II. We are beyond grateful for these moments and the adventures to come!"

• "I’ve waited two and a half years to put the boys in their little red wagon together. This Firefly Goto chair makes so many things possible for Zane. And for us as a family."

• "KJ got to enjoy the park on this gorgeous day thanks to his GoTo"

• "Today we went to watch Milkshake Live with Cooper using his Goto Seat! These 2 just made each other laugh the entire time."

Likewise, the Scooot seat provides an experience of independence for many children with mobility problems. Scooot facilitates play, a key factor in the early years of development in a child’s life. It also complements therapy programmes in numerous ways by serving as a practical and fun device for home and therapy environments. It gives children the freedom to explore their home, play with friends and undertake activities that children without brain conditions routinely undertake without any help. In doing so they will have opportunities for developing physical, cognitive, and sensory abilities.