The 34th National Veterans Wheelchair Games celebrate inspirational abilities.

2. A
s a nation, we all owe a great debt of thanks to our Wounded Warriors. Many of these heroic
veterans have sustained amputations, paraplegia, quadriplegia or other severe disabilities
stemming from their military service. The mental fortitude required for them to readjust
to everyday life can be immense.
Amid the sometimes dark days of recovery, thousands of American veterans have found
adapted sports to be an essential outlet for rediscovering themselves. Perhaps no competition exemplifies
this spirit better than the National Veterans Wheelchair Games (NVWG), the largest annual wheelchair
sporting event in the world. Last month, the 34th edition took place for the first time in the city where
the nation was founded — Philadelphia.
From Aug. 12-17, more than 500 veterans from all over the country descended on the Cradle of Liberty
to compete in 18 different wheelchair events. Along the way, they battled, bonded and believed, proving
they’re defined not by disabilities, but by their ability to adapt and overcome.
Hosted by the Philadelphia VA Medical Center and Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), this inspi-
rational competition included events ranging from swimming and table tennis to track & field, archery,
quad rugby and more. For veteran Laura Schwanger, an annual participant and multiple medal-winner,
the Wheelchair Games make an impact far beyond event performances.
Personal Perspective
“I was in the Army from 1979-82 but had to be medically retired due to multiple sclerosis,” Schwanger told
ADVANCE. “I first started experiencing symptoms about a year in, and they said the condition was probably
aggravated by military service. So at age 24 as a retired, unemployable former soldier with better benefits
than a 20-year vet, I started on an emotional roller coaster. After a couple years, I was heading down.”
Living in Massachusetts at the time, Schwanger went with some friends to watch the 1984 Boston
Marathon. “I saw the first 12 competitors cross the finish line in wheelchairs, and immediately said
that’s what I want to do. So wheelchair sports really gave me a new reason to get out of bed in the
morning and rejoin life as a participant.”
COVER STORY
Competing for a
CAUSEThe 34th National Veterans Wheelchair Games
celebrate inspirational abilities By Brian W. Ferrie
10 ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners ❘ September 2014
JEFFREYLEESER

3. 12 ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners ❘ September 2014 ❘ www.advanceweb.com/ot
A native of southern New Jersey, Schwanger
moved back to the Philadelphia area, where
her family still lived. “I became involved
with the wheelchair sports team at Magee
Rehabilitation,” she related. “They familiarized
me with the options available there, and then
I found a local Paralyzed Veterans of America
chapter, which introduced me to the veteran
wheelchair sports program.”
Schwanger competed in her first NVWG in
1986, and since then has entered at least 15 of
the annual competitions. She has also partici-
pated in four Paralympics (1988, 1992, 1996
and 2008) for the United States, becoming one
of the most prolific competitors in the country.
“I try to go to the Wheelchair Games every
year, no matter where they’re being held,”
Schwanger said. “The Games are just a great
way to try new things and explore your talents.
Especially to encourage some of the novice
participants, men and women who are veter-
ans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation
Enduring Freedom, to compete in a variety of
different sports. They can learn about these
sports and maybe strive to compete in the
Paralympics. Change that military uniform
to a red, white and blue uniform.”
Onsite Assist
Delores Iacovone, MSOTR/L, CDRS, felt fortu-
nate to witness that competitive spirit firsthand.
In addition to her full-time position as a certified
driver rehab specialist for the Philadelphia VA
Medical Center, Iacovone served as a member
of the local organizing committee for this year’s
NVWG. Specifically, her title was committee
chairperson for specialty chair storage.
“Basically our role was to plan and implement
a secure storage area within the Pennsylvania
Convention Center for all the various specialty
chairs that participants would be bringing with
them,” she shared with ADVANCE. “Because
they were mostly staying in hotel rooms and a
lot of them came with multiple chairs besides
their everyday chair. So we were responsible for
storing sports chairs, hand cycles and throwing
chairs while the participants competed in other
events. We also needed to coordinate getting
their equipment to offsite events.”
Overalltheeffortwasagreatsuccess,Iacovone
related. “We worked hard to tie all the aspects
together so everything would run smoothly,
which it did. All the chairs got to the right venues
at the right times. And it was humbling when a
representative from PVA stopped by and asked
me, ‘How does it feel to be responsible for $3 mil-
lion worth of equipment?’ I hadn’t thought about
it like that before, but when you added up all the
COVER STORY
Whether you graduated last century or last semester, there’s a
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4. specialty chairs and wheels, it really was a lot.”
More than the logistical aspects of her
involvement, Iacovone was impressed by the
participants. “I think overall I was just amazed
by the sportsmanship, athleticism and camara-
derie between veterans,” she said. “They don’t
know in advance who will be on their teams,
which are determined by classification level.
But they come together and support each
other so well. I saw that with veterans who I’ve
treated in the past as well as other veterans I
never met before. It was very inspiring.”
Event Insight
Those thoughts were echoed by Elena Newland,
DPT, advanced clinician I and co-chair of the
SCI program team at Good Shepherd Penn
Partners in Philadelphia. Although Newland
isn’t a VA employee, she volunteered to serve as
an events assistant for the 2014 NVWG.
“Generally my role was to help run and orga-
nize all 18 events, along with the vice chair
for events coordination, Julia Fries, CTRS,”
Newland told ADVANCE. “The planning phase
was about a 13-month process, and once the
Games commenced we oversaw the various
events spread over eight sites in Southeastern
Pennsylvania and South Jersey. From inven-
tory for all the equipment to making sure the
site setup for every event was appropriate,
then coordinating and supporting the events,
including safety aspects.”
It was very work-intensive but Newland
treasured the opportunity. “This has been a
life-changing experience,” she said. “The best
partformewasworkingwithateamwherethere
was no ‘no.’ The mindset was, ‘What do you need
and how can we make this successful?’ When
COVER STORY
For a video feature profiling the competitors and volunteers at the
National Veterans Wheelchair Games visit the Multimedia section of
www.advanceweb.com/ot.
www.advanceweb.com/ot ❘ September 2014 ❘ ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners 13
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“This has been a life-changing experience,” said volunteer Elena Newland, DPT (above photo,
left), co-chair of the SCI program team at Good Shepherd Penn Partners in Philadelphia. Above
right, veterans Laura Schwanger and Bruce Husted competed in multiple events.
continued on page 20

5. 20 ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners ❘ September 2014 ❘ www.advanceweb.com/ot
The Handee Band: Super Fun and All In One By Francesca Avalli, MS, OTR/L
AS PEDIATRIC OTS, we know all about the importance of
maintaining energy and coming up with novel ideas to keep kids
engaged.
While working in the public school system, I wanted a quick and
simple strengthening tool I could share with parents and teachers.
With limited supplies, space, and time, I realized that I overlooked
one fantastic OT tool — the stretchy resistive band. Resistive bands
are not only effective for strengthening and coordination, but also
provide proprioceptive sensory feedback.
I became determined to create something convenient for kids,
and the Handee Band was developed. The Handee Band is a
stretchy resistive band (4 feet in length and 6 lbs. of resistance) with
a set of handprints printed directly on the band. The Handee Prints
provide a visual cue and take the guesswork out of proper hand
placement. Kids are more independent and can properly position
their hands when they are able to easily grip the Handee Prints to
maximize the benefit of each exercise.
The Handee Band comes in a compact tripod flipbook with 15
illustrated exercises, a reusable dry erase calendar checklist to keep
track of progress, dry erase marker, and stickers. Each exercise is
illustrated with a child-friendly character, demonstrating how to use
the Handee Band. Step-by-step directions guide how to position
the body, move slowly, and breathe properly. Exciting concepts
take the child on a journey of imagination. Children enjoy finding
their inner Kung-Fooie to “karate chop,” “buckling up for safety”
with Ruby on roller skates, “hopping” like Frannie the Flamingo from
Florida, or “getting on track”
with Johnnie the conductor.
What better way to solidify
routine and develop healthy
habits than by using the reus-
able calendar checklist? Just
spend 10-15 minutes, 3 times
a week, strengthening the body
with Handee Band, and kids
love checking off the list.
After a few times using the
book, they become famil-
iar with it. Confidence and
strength increases, as seen in a
small study at a special education preschool in California. Children
3-5 years of age used the Handee Band 4-5 times per week, 15
minutes per day, with their teacher, in a group. The majority of
standing balance and supine flexion scores increased after using
the Handee Band and 8-10 exercises for three consecutive weeks.
They were motivated by the illustrations and showed increased
independence in positioning while gripping the Handee Prints. The
Handee Band program is versatile and easily modified for children
ages 3 and up. It’s great for a sensory diet, home program, or for
“warm-ups” or breaks.
Francesca Avalli is owner of TherapyWorksLA in Los Angeles, CA.
SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE
MODALITIES IN PRACTICE
pain” — always consider muscle movement
patterns and functional needs. Patients are
encouraged to exercise and stretch target
areas through their home program as well,
in some component activity the therapist can
help identify.
A nice added bonus has been decreased
stress and fatigue to our hands, as the vast
majority of patients require a soft tissue
component to their treatment programs.
Replacing many pure manual techniques with
IASTM can be a career-saver, hopefully add-
ing years to our collective ability to provide
manual therapy. Equally as important, if given
the choice, most patients prefer the IASTM
tools to comparable manual care.
Taking a Closer Look
Although relatively new to mainstream clinical
use, IASTM has roots dating back thousands
of years in Eastern medicine. Research on this
technique is in the early stages, and studies of
higher quality are beginning to show up.
By taking a close look at the literature, we
expect you will find this modality worth con-
sidering as an adjunct to your manual therapy
repertoire, in preparing tissue for restorative
recovery and return to daily and contributory
activities.
If you are a healthy skeptic of the claims by
the IASTM community, and question its use-
fulness in a functional and holistic practice, we
invite you to consider it anew. After performing
countless IASTM treatments, it has become a
mainstay of our manual therapy protocols and
purpose-based treatment programs. n
References are available at www.advanceweb.
com/ot under the Magazine tab.
Cornelia von Lersner Benson is the occupa-
tional therapy and hand therapy director for
NovaCare in Southern New Jersey. Mark Butler
is center manager of the NovaCare clinic in
Medford, N.J.
continued from page 16
you work with a great team, it’s one of the best
feelings because you accomplish so much. For
a full 13 months, this was the strongest, most
powerful team I’ve ever been part of.”
That same passion was reflected by the
competitors themselves, related Newland.
“Last year I went to the Wheelchair Games
in Tampa in more of an observation/learning
role, and cried every single day,” she concluded.
“Because I hadn’t been exposed much to the
military until that point, and I began to under-
stand how these people sacrificed so much of
their lives and bodies to protect our country.
To see everybody come together again this year
in Philadelphia and put so much energy into
the competition, how they strive and don’t give
up regardless of their disability, to see all their
families and friends there supporting them, it
was just amazing.” n
Brian W. Ferrie is on staff at ADVANCE.
Contact: bferrie@advanceweb.com
continued from page 13
COVER STORY