Summary
This podcast episode of Little Brains Big Steps features hosts Franchesca Cox, an occupational therapist, and Megan Williams, a speech-language pathologist, discussing the importance of seating and positioning for children with developmental delays. They welcome industrial designer Alex Geht, the creator of the Testa Seat, a customizable and versatile seating solution for children with special needs. Geht shares his journey into adaptive seating design, identifying gaps in existing solutions, and how Testa Seat enhances accessibility, comfort, and family participation. The conversation highlights real-life success stories, the role of seating in communication and feeding, and advice for parents seeking the best seating options for their children.
Episode Transcript
Franchesca Cox (00:00)
Hi there, I’m Francesca Cox, an occupational therapist based in Houston, Texas. Over the years, I’ve had the incredible honor of working with children who have neuromuscular conditions, rare genetic disorders, and developmental delays. Using approaches like DMI therapy and TheraSuit, I’ve seen firsthand the resilience and strength of these amazing kids and their families. Each day brings new lessons, and my passion is to empower families with the tools and knowledge to support their child’s journey.
Megan Williams (00:24)
And I’m Megan Williams, a speech language pathologist also based in Houston, Texas. I specialize in feeding therapy and I’m an MNRI core specialist. I’ve worked with children facing feeding challenges and sensory processing issues using reflex integration techniques to support the brain body connection and help children thrive.
My mission is to guide families through the often complex world of feeding and communication, empowering them to support their child’s growth with confidence.
Franchesca Cox (00:55)
are here to share insights, practical strategies, and heartfelt stories that can help you navigate the unique challenges and joys of raising a child with special needs.
Megan Williams (01:04)
We know every family’s journey is different, but our goal is to create a supportive space where you feel seen, heard, and equipped with the knowledge to help your child reach their fullest potential.
Franchesca Cox (01:16)
whether you’re looking for therapy techniques, expert advice, or just a sense of community, you’re in the right place.
Megan Williams (01:22)
Let’s explore this journey together filled with hope, growth, and endless possibilities.
Franchesca Cox (01:28)
Welcome to Little Brains Big Steps, the podcast dedicated to empowering parents of children with special needs. I’m Francesca. And today we’re diving into the essential yet often overlooked aspect of child development, seating and positioning. If you’ve ever wondered why proper support matters for kids with developmental delays, this episode is for you. I’m thrilled to have Alexander Gett, the brilliant mind behind Testa Seat a revolutionary seating solution for children with special needs. Welcome Alexander.
Megan Williams (01:34)
And I’m Megan.
Alex Geht (01:55)
Hey, thank
you for having me.
I’m happy to join you and hear about the seat.
Franchesca Cox (01:59)
awesome. Let’s start with the origin story. What inspired you to create the Testa Seat
Alex Geht (02:03)
I’m an industrial designer in my background. I like to solve complicated solutions or complicated problems. I’m not really involved in the disability field, never ever. And then I just started to volunteer with children’s hospitals. And the first time that they came to the children’s hospitals, I had this head of innovation in this hospital.
getting me through the hospital and showing me all the stages from birth to how they making the rehabilitation, PT, OT. And then I started to realize that sitting for them, it’s something so initial. And she’s always also mentioning about first sitting and then the rest of the things can be done with the child.
was mentioning about eye contact and and feeding and for me at the beginning it was really
interesting to understand how this hitting can effects, but then I started to see the different equipments that exist in this market and I was extremely surprised how they’re not really customized, how many different challenges the families have and then it’s something that hit me and I was just fascinated and inspired to work on this project with them.
Franchesca Cox (03:16)
you
That’s amazing. You saw a You became the solution.
Megan Williams (03:23)
Yeah, and many parents…
They really, I don’t think, realize how proper seating is so important for the child’s participation in all of their family experiences, especially from my standpoint as a feeding therapist. It’s crucial to be in proper alignment for feeding or just being vertically oriented versus laying flat on a pallet away from their family. So Alex, what were some of the most significant gaps that you found in
the seating solutions that were already on the market.
Alex Geht (03:54)
So I think, and we’re still learning that there’s two different aspects of gaps in the seating solutions on the market. One, if you’re looking from the medical necessity, right? So how we customizing, how we producing a seat that will support the child. And then usually ending up with bulky equipments or too heavy equipments with a lot of adjustments. But on the medical necessity and from the healthcare system, it’s
good solution because it’s provided the seating. But then when we’re starting to work with the families we understand that it’s not only about the positioning. Yes, the positioning it’s basic for everything else, but you need to feed. You need to go outside. You need the equipment in your house and also outside in your house. You need to have something that will be water resistant.
not only because showers, pools, but also the eating and et cetera. there is two main gaps. One is how we customizing. So it’s extremely complicated and expensive to make the customization. But then the other gap is how families really can get less of those equipments so they can use in different setups.
Franchesca Cox (05:03)
you
Alex Geht (05:07)
so they can also buy it and not only relying on insurance. So there is a lot of different gaps that we see.
Megan Williams (05:14)
a lot of families will have so many different seating options that they almost have to have a garage or a spare room for all of their options. And that can take up a lot of space. They’re heavy. They’re hard to travel with. And these families still want to travel with their kiddos and not keep them from any experiences that the rest of the family has.
Franchesca Cox (05:35)
for sure. And another part of that is they keep growing. And so you might get all the different chairs that meet different needs, but then you have to do it all over again. For parents who may not be familiar with this, seating and positioning, from a developmental standpoint, what is the big thing for children and why is it such a big thing? You mentioned a little bit about, engaging in their environment, but what are some of the big things, big reasons why?
This is so important.
Alex Geht (05:58)
I it’s also something that I realized on the process when we started to develop. Sitting is one of the main postures during the day. All the environment designed around sitting. before even thinking about it or working with those children, we see that sitting is for meals.
dinners for learning and education. When we’re traveling, so sitting in the car, sitting in the bus, sitting in the airlines, restaurants, schools, it’s all about sitting. So if you’re not able to sit, the child is struggle to even focus on those basic tasks. and we started to see it everywhere. If a child
not able to sit comfortable and safety and confident that he will not fall down or he’s not supported, he will always look for this better position and we see them always trying to balance and find the posture. And the most significant thing that we saw once they supported and they feel confident, then they starting to communicating better.
They get this eye contact and we also saw how children’s writing better, eating better, so
It’s just a seat for most of the cases and in traditional we not think about how it’s important, but it’s really basic for most of the activities during the day. for me, this was the main starting point to understand. our solutions are not good enough and this is why we started Testacy.
Megan Williams (07:33)
Yeah, with communication, I’d never really fully thought about it, but if…
kids are using an eye gaze device or eye tracking, it has to read on the machine and if you’re slumped over and you’re not seated, I know it impacts breathing, but then also it just kind of came to my mind using augmentative technology even is impacted. So Alex, can you walk us through some of the key features of the Testa Seat that
you have kind of identified these gaps and found a way to really make it more unique or more beneficial than these mass-produced options that are already out there.
Alex Geht (08:11)
And I think it will be also divided into different aspects. So from the customization side, we understand that fitting the child to the good seating solution and supportive solution, it’s the baseline. It’s something that we need to make in this or other way. So on the starting point, we realized that making the custom process, it’s expensive and really complicated. So test to see.
Franchesca Cox (08:30)
you
Alex Geht (08:36)
created a platform, but we usually see the platform as a communication platform between the therapist, family and us to get the right measurements, but not only the measurements, but also if the need to be more active seat or tilted or reclined seat and then based on these measurements and approaches, we can customize any seat because we see that there is no one good seat. There is no one good approach. So
For us, Testa Seat is a platform that we can collaborate, we can see what is the best approach, and then based on these measurements and the needs, we can make this seat. The other thing, once we know how to customize the seat, we also have the size products. So it’s more affordable products that we’re providing for the families, so they don’t need to make the customization process, but…
Franchesca Cox (09:11)
BOOM!
Alex Geht (09:27)
The customization process is always there and we can develop product as well. The other part that we focus in and maybe there is two different parts as well. The other part is how we’re getting the same seat to function as different seats. So we try to make the seats as small as possible at the baseline to make them fit in different…
places. So we see families using them inside strollers. Sometimes we see them using the equipment inside small mobility platforms like the go, baby go mobility cars and small bicycle cars, etc. So the small size, it’s something that we see that it’s so useful for many cases. then we saw that
Franchesca Cox (09:53)
you
Alex Geht (10:13)
floor activity, it’s something that’s really unique, but most of the time it’s an additional seat that you need to buy. So we created this kind of attachment, really small attachment that can be used in the seat, providing this support on the floor. And then the booster seat or the opportunity to attach the seat on top of a chair or on top of the sofa, it’s an additional layer of
how we can provide the seat for different users and for different opportunities.
Franchesca Cox (10:45)
That’s amazing. as you know, we have the clinical trial right now and the parents are loving it. I said, you can also get it wet and you can also use it here. And, you know, I love that.
It was a very important piece that you’re talking about with the floor so doesn’t tip back. They’re able to sit ring sitting, which I love if they’re on the floor. So that’s just a really neat part of it because a lot of our kids like to long sit, but they’re able to wrap those legs around. So that was a really cool feature. Have you heard any heartwarming success stories from families that have used a test to see?
Alex Geht (11:12)
I always it’s
We’re getting all this kind of feedback from families and we keep learning all the time. But I think the most basic feedbacks, it’s always the most incredible feedbacks that we can learn from And one of the stories that I always share is our first customer, we just launched the seat. We will still working with the therapist, we’re still working with the development, but not really interacting with the families.
So one family took the seat, they started to use the seat and then we received the first picture of the child sits in the restaurant. And the message was, this is the first time that we can eat together facing each other and not holding the child and seeing only the back. And for me, it was the that I really understood how basic the seating is for those children.
Franchesca Cox (11:53)
Wow.
Alex Geht (12:03)
and how even the product, it’s not only for the child, but it’s for the family. So now they can travel and now they can use it in different places. So it’s always those small moments that you not really appreciate until you see it and get this kind of really heartwarming feedback from the families.
Megan Williams (12:25)
you
Franchesca Cox (12:25)
That’s
awesome. Thank you for sharing that.
Megan Williams (12:28)
Yeah,
I had one family tell me one time that they were getting denied. They were requesting a type of additional seating other than the wheelchair. And the insurance company was saying, well, you know.
you just need one kind of chair. And I thought at home, I’m not just sitting in my dining table chair. that’s not very comfy. I want to go be able to stretch out comfortably on the couch and things like that. And so that was an eye-opening experience for me into kind of insurance, but I’ll try not to go on that soap box. So it’s definitely heartwarming and amazing that your company is looking at
really helping these kiddos and these families. Like you said, it’s not just for the child, it’s the whole family. So for parents listening, if you are gonna recommend what should they look for in just a basic kind of seating option for their child. Maybe they’re on the list for a Testa Seat and they’re just needing something really…
makeshift in the moment, what are some things they should look at?
Alex Geht (13:26)
So I think usually we’re just recommending and we’re trying to see what the families are looking for and what opportunities they want to have with their child as well. And this is also kind of the same thing about the medical necessity or not. I feel the families usually hear from the insurance companies that
Franchesca Cox (13:37)
you
Alex Geht (13:48)
the seat is only for seating in house or feeding, et cetera. And I will suggest families to open the social media, start looking for other families, what they’re doing with the adaptive seating and then starting to think maybe there is additional opportunities or additional things that they can do with the children and then starting to look at product, what the product can provide them.
So we see a lot of families not even thinking about going outside, not thinking about sitting inside the pool or other things. So not only looking at what the child needs and how the seating can support him just to sit, but what kind of other opportunities or things you want to do with the child and then looking at the seating solution as
Franchesca Cox (14:13)
you
Alex Geht (14:41)
another tool, another equipment, only for the seat.
Franchesca Cox (14:45)
good advice. That’s really good
advice. When they’re thrown into this world of special needs, there’s so much to consider, so it’s nice to have some direction in this area. So what advice would you give to parents who feel overwhelmed by all the equipment things that they learn that they need? What advice would you have for them? Or anything that you would add to what you’ve already shared?
Alex Geht (15:04)
it’s a complicated space. It’s complicated space and it’s really complicated to understand what equipment really will work for your child because I feel that most of the equipment’s designed in a way to fulfill many children’s as possible. And in many cases, it’s a credible equipment
But sometimes we see that it’s over supportive. It’s over complicated for some of the children’s. For some of the children’s it’s the only seat that they can really sit. But we see a lot of children’s that they much more capable. They can do much more than sitting in extremely tilted seat without the opportunity to communicate or be more active. So
I think my recommendation for those family and this is already complicated for them, but really trying as much as equipment as possible before even buying or trying to see that this is the only equipment that will feed the child because I see that sometimes
I’ll transfer from some extremely complicated seat to much less complicated one and they start to be much more active and thriving and exercising and they develop it much better than in the other seat. So I know that it’s not the best recommendation, but just trying as much as possible before moving. And I think this is also something that we learning from the families all the time.
And this is also our approach always for the seating solutions. It’s once we’re trying to get to the clinics and just providing them the seating solution so they will share with the families. But always we have many families that they not sure about the size or they’re not sure if the equipment will fit them. And we just sending them two sizes, trial them, check if it work for you and then ship us back the other seat because we really understand that.
Franchesca Cox (16:39)
Yeah?
Alex Geht (17:04)
It’s so necessary to see, feel, and try out the equipment before. So we’re trying really to make it a little bit different than most of the companies.
Franchesca Cox (17:14)
That’s amazing.
Megan Williams (17:15)
Yeah, it’s really important. It’s just like anything that you would want to test out before you invest in to make sure you find the right kind. And so it’s awesome that you all are able to make that available to families. So as we wrap up, Alex, tell us how can listeners find you? How can they find out more about your company? How can they reach out to you?
Franchesca Cox (17:38)
Yeah.
Alex Geht (17:38)
So the easiest way to reach out it’s on our website. It’s testa-seat.com but also on the Instagram. Testa Seat on Instagram. can find, I think Instagram starts to be some interesting platform to look for new equipment but also for new therapists, new families. For us, it’s also incredible to be on Instagram because it’s such an incredible way.
Franchesca Cox (18:00)
you
Alex Geht (18:06)
I think it’s also a suggestion to those families that looking for new equipment, looking for new opportunities, just go to the social media. There are so many families that start sharing their journey. And it’s so fascinating because for many families it’s so complicated to share the story and communicate the story outside. But I feel that now it’s such an incredible time that many families are really sharing.
and then we see what equipment they’re looking for, how they’re making those solutions. So check our Instagram as well, and you can find testa seat also in therapies and families.
Franchesca Cox (18:44)
this conversation has been super eye-opening. Thank you for sharing your insight and your expertise. Parents, please remember positioning isn’t just about sitting, it’s about setting up your child for success in every aspect of their life. Check out Test to Seat and explore how the right fit and how the right support might and will make a difference. If you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review. Until next time.
Please keep taking those big steps forward with your little ones.
Franchesca Cox (19:07)
We’re so glad you joined us for Little Brain’s Big Steps podcast. Please remember information provided on this podcast, whether from the hosts, sponsors, or guests is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your child’s physician and therapist before making any changes to their medical care. Take care, and we can’t wait to chat with you again next time.
We’re so glad you joined us for Little Brain’s Big Steps podcast. Please remember information provided on this podcast, whether from the hosts, sponsors, or guests is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your child’s physician and therapist before making any changes to their medical care.
Franchesca Cox (19:50)
Thanks for joining us on the Little Brains Big Steps podcast. We hope this episode provided valuable insights and support for your journey. If you know a parent who could benefit from this episode, share it with them today. Be sure to visit our podcast website for show notes and additional resources. Until next time, take care and keep making those big steps forward.