Skipping Rope

allowing a child with left erb’s palsy (limited arm function) to skip rope independently. Due to the erbs palsy the child cannot hold the skipping rope and turn it in the normal way. A custom adaptation was designed which encloses one section of a skipping rope in a U-shaped piece of 10 millimeter aluminum tubing, with a small L-shaped indentation in one corner of the U. The bottom of the U-shaped section is strapped onto the child’s stomach by a belt that goes across her back, and her left arm is held against her body inside the belt, keeping it out of the way of the rope. The child can balance easier when the left arm is kept down. The belt has a quick-release clip so that once the correct length has been set; the child can easily do it up and undo it with one hand. The child turns the tube and the enclosed rope using the “handle” formed by the L-shape indentation on the other side of the U. This has a plastic grip on the it so the aluminum tube can rotate inside it. The section that goes against the stomach is also covered by plastic, so her stomach is protected from the rotation movement. Minor adjustments had to be made so that the child could get enough momentum. The arms of the U were extended so they weren’t further down the rope toward the child’s feet. Also a heavier and longer rope than would normally be used with skipping was used. TITLE: Skipping with Delight. JOURNAL: TAD Journal. REF: Volume 30, Number 1, January 2010: p. 11. PAGES: 2 (including cover).