Four freshmen engineering students designed a new way for a 2 ½-year-old boy of short stature to use his parents’ toilet seat.
Dr. Cecelia Wigal’s students Zach Bell, Tim Boerema, Benjamin Barrow and Michael Sherrit were asked to design a toilet seat that integrates into the child’s parents existing toilet seat.
“He had been unable to potty train because he could not properly access his parents’ toilet seat. We added handles and used a smaller step-up,” said Michael Sherrit. “We measured the distance from the floor to his hip. He weighs fifteen pounds.”
The students’ main objectives were to make the assistive device safe, convenient and simple to use.
At the 2009 Engineering Showcase, the students had spoken with the boy’s mother, who said he had used the toilet seat and did not become upset when he used it.
