ACCEPT is a sensorized adapted climbing wall for the analysis of children's rehabilitation progress suffering from Cerebral Palsy (CP).

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most frequent pediatric neuromuscular disorder. Children with CP can, in many cases, partly recover their neuromotor skills through intensive rehabilitation. As recently demonstrated, adapted sport constitutes a valid complement to standard rehabilitation. It is highly engaging, potentially leading to results otherwise obtained over a much longer time. Starting from this evidence and in partnership with FightTheStroke, the project focusses on sport climbing to study, realize and test a prototype of an adapted, sensorized, and reconfigurable wall —ACCEPT— designed for the rehabilitation of children between 6 and 13 years old.

The research aims at exploring and promoting the role of sport climbing as a therapeutic tool, proposing a solution that is at once training, inclusion, and a means of tracking rehabilitation progresses.
The complexity of the project, therefore, requires specific skills in ergonomics and design that must be integrated with the mechanics, electronics, computer science, physiatric, pedagogical and social knowledge necessary to involve children.

ACCEPT is designed to reduce inequalities and promote the health and well-being of children.
The project is managed by a heterogeneous research team that promotes, coordinates and supervises the activities of the definition of the project requirements, design of the climbing wall, development of the sensors, the impact of the results in the rehabilitation of children and dissemination of the same in other areas.

In spring 2021, we are finally testing the first fully functional module of ACCEPT in our labs at Politecnico.
In summer 2021 ACCEPT is finally ready and set up at PlayMore!, open to anybody who is willing to approach a more inclusive form of climbing, and ready to help therapists with a continuous, quantitative measure of motor progresses.

Project funded by Polisocial Award 2019 – Politecnico di Milano