Drum/percussion kit

This boy with cerebral palsy spends most of his time in a wheel chair. He has poor control of his head and hand movements but wanted to play the drums and join his friends in playing in a band.

A comprehensive drum kit (snare and bass drums, tom-toms plus a cymbal and high hat) was bought by the client’s father. These were then ‘played’ using a series of drum sticks and strikers operated by a Bowden cable (for the snare drum), low voltage (12v) electric motor (for the snare roll) and 12 volt solenoids (for the bass drum, tom-toms, cymbal and high hat). Operation of these was achieved using a bank of sprung levers fitted to a central console. By using oversized pads on the actuators, the client was able to strike the desired levers despite his less than precise hand movements.

The client is now able to play the drums for the first time and has gained greater hand coordination from using the kit.