When Chairman Tim Bergeron started Adaptivemall.com in 1998, the notion of actually earning a profit doing e-commerce was a mere gleam in some futurists’ eyes. Amazon had opened its doors only two years earlier, and was losing money hand over fist. Even Bergeron’s kids had their doubts.
Katie Bergeron Peglow, Adaptivemall.com’s COO (in this case it stands for Chief Online Officer) laughs about it now. “In 1998,” she recalls, “my dad came to my brother and me and asked us what we thought about him selling adaptive equipment online. I was a Pediatric Physical Therapist, working with children who use a lot of this equipment, and my brother was studying for his MBA at Cornell. The internet was just starting and we went, ‘OK Dad, sure, give it a try, why not, have fun with it…’”
But Tim had a vision. He knew that while insurance companies pay for some special needs equipment, they usually don’t cover everything these kids need—and eventually families have to pay out of pocket. He realized he could provide information and products at a fair price because overhead costs for an internet site would be lots less than having a retail store. “Little did we know!” laughs Katie. “Well, he knew, even if we didn’t, that a successful business would grow out of it.”
Which is how, with Aabaco’s help, Adaptivemall.com became the first online web site selling special needs equipment for children directly to families. Today, 18 years later, with a staff of 10, Adaptivemall.com still offers the best selection of adaptive equipment on the internet. Their products range from special needs strollers to special needs car seats to toys for children’s therapy.
And just as their motto says, they really do understand. Carrie Bergeron, Katie’s little sister, was born with Down syndrome in 1976.
Sit Up, Walk, Ride a Bike
Unless you have a family member with Down syndrome, Cerebral palsy, or some other developmental disability, you may have only a vague idea of what adaptive equipment is.
The term refers to products that are made specifically for children with different types of disabilities. Adaptivemall.com tends to focus on children with gross motor disabilities, like kids who can’t sit up on their own, or walk, or ride a bike. The site sells a variety of equipment that will help them be more independent in performing these tasks.
“Lately we’re getting into something called 'sensory integration,’” Katie explains, “which is something you see in children with autism. A good example is when you have a child sitting on a chair too tall for their feet to reach the ground. They swing their legs back and forth. They’re not doing that because they want to be disruptive; it’s actually giving feedback to the body on where their feet are in space. One way to get around that is to provide a chair that has a footplate—so their feet are supported and they’re 'grounded.’ Now they know where their legs are.”
Two-Cushion Shot
Tim and the Bergeron/Peglow families have devoted a major part of their lives to designing, building and selling adaptive equipment.
Long before he started Adaptivemall.com, Tim was an industrial designer creating and manufacturing “cushion technology” products for children with special needs—huge rolls, balls, and wedges made of soft foam in vibrant colors enjoyed by parents and therapists alike. They are still found in Physical Therapy Departments across the nation.
In 2001, a few years after Adaptivemall.com made its appearance, Tim launched another company, Special Tomato, based on an advanced reinvention of cushion technology that improved upon his earlier creation.
According to Katie, “the cushion technology my Dad developed for Special Tomato is what separates us from our competitors. It’s comfortable and soft to the touch, yet it’s strong enough to prevent tears and punctures. Durability is important since these products are used in schools and hospitals as well as in homes.”
Another benefit of Special Tomato’s proprietary cushion technology is that it allows for curves, creating a contoured surface that mimics the shape of the human body. This is important for children that have limited mobility.
“You and I are able to shift our weight in a chair to relieve pressure,” explains Katie. “A lot of the children that use our products don’t have the motor skills necessary to do that. With our contoured cushions, more surface area comes in contact with the body, which helps to distribute the pressure on the body. It is also easy to clean which is always a bonus with children.”
It’s no surprise, then, that several Special Tomato products are best-sellers on Adaptivemall.com. One popular favorite is the EIO Push Chair, an extra-wide baby stroller designed to accommodate a taller child comfortably. By three and four, most children with special needs have outgrown the “typically developing” stroller, but the family still needs something to take a quick outing in town – something easier to use than a wheelchair. Special Tomato’s Soft-Touch Sitters are also best-sellers.
Aabaco (Yahoo!)
With close to 10,000 products and accessories to track, and a huge amount of need-specific information to navigate, Adaptivemall.com’s web site is the linchpin of the operation. And for almost 20 years it’s counted on Aabaco Small Business (formerly Yahoo Small Business) to keep it running.
“Our biggest challenge as a startup was navigating the ever-changing internet to stay at the forefront,” Katie declares. “To be high in the top searches, to understand how to develop our site, how to present our products effectively. Tim has no background in computer coding, and neither do I.
"Aabaco made it super-easy for us. You just fill in the fields and the site deals with all the code in the background. We input all our data and it comes up and looks nice. Maria, who’s been our account manager for as long as I can remember, helps point us in the direction of third parties when we need them. Like the MyAccount system which allows customers to save their account information, and gives us history on users. Aabaco has been a great fit for us. They even recommended third-party players to manage our recent web site redesign.”
Occupational or Physical
Like most ecommerce businesses, Adaptivemall.com uses social media and a variety of other marketing methodologies to attract customers—but even more important is the unique customer service that keeps those customers coming back. Adaptivemall.com puts licensed Occupational or Physical Therapists, including Katie, on their Customer Service staff. The therapists are there to provide assistance for families in choosing the most appropriate equipment for their child.
In addition, therapists write the descriptions for each product, to ensure that the therapeutic benefits of each device are explained.
Greatest Triumph
Ask Katie what the company’s greatest triumph was, and her voice softens.
“We get thank you cards from families with pictures of their kids using the equipment,” she says, “and knowing that the products we sell are helping to make their lives easier is what keeps everyone in the company going. We love what we do, and we love that we get to make a difference in the lives of children all over the world, each and every day.”
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Lean Trim Diana Here! Happy Thursday! One more day till Friday for you working folks. Every day for me can be my Friday as I do my weight loss coffee and beverages from my home:) Today I want to touch on our awesome Prevail Immune drink. Taste like cherry and you shake it up in an 10 to 12 oz bottle of cold water. You can also drink it hot if you feel a little under the weather. Feels so good. Below is a results story on our Immune and a list of ingredients. The 12in24 program Marie refers to is 1 SlimRoast coffee in am, 1 Trim drink at 1-4pm, and 1 immune drink at night 1 hr before bed and lose 12 inches or lbs in 24 days. I will post more on the 12in24 program tomorrow. I am always happy to answer any questions you might have www.leantrimcoffee.info This is Marie's awesome story: Hello to you all🙋🏼 I thought I’d share my experience of the immune boost with you all. I've suffered with psoriasis since I was 11 (I’m 35 now) & suffered with sciatica for the past 5 years. I recently completed the Valentus 12in24 program & during that time I noticed a difference In my psoriasis, I can see patches of my actual skin emerging. I’ve tried so many lotions & potions to combat this but I've NEVER seen such results in a short time. I also noticed my sciatica that I’m always in pain with went away! For 3 days over the weekend i was gone and completely forgot to take my immune boost & I woke up Saturday morning my skin feeling itchy & my pains had come back. I didn’t think much about it until tonight. I’m sitting here realizing that after starting the immune again Monday night the pains have completely gone again & so has the itching. Now I’m not making any medical claims here at all just sharing what has happened to me.
Madison Egan is currently a junior at Rogers High School and will graduate in the class of 2019. She has a dream and goal to play college tennis. For more information on Madison email Chris Egan at cegan@king5.com
How Roger Federer Keeps Fit?
By: Jesse Regan
The Wimbledon and any other tennis tournament that Roger Federer won were witness to what a perfectly fit body can achieve. Federer, of course, took a lot of pains to gain the champion physique. Playing tennis alone even for a day would not suffice. With nothing to lift but the lightweight tennis racket and nothing else to sprint on but just half of the court, fitness can only be one-sided. Federer makes sure he employs a well-rounded fitness regimen complemented with the right food intake People would assume that Federer, young and healthy at twenty-seven, does not need to sweat it out with fitness routines. His activeness in sports assures him of a lean and muscled physique already. The Swiss Maestro sees otherwise though as he goes into workouts like any other dedicated weight-watcher. He also makes sure that he never lacks rest. To rejuvenate himself for the next day, he sleeps for about 10 hours at night, beyond the average period a guy his age would need.
Federer does not take vacations when it comes to workouts. With his trainer Pierre Paganini, he uses up more than 10 hours of fitness training every week during off-seasons or months with no major tournaments. A total workout time of 100 hours per season is not strange for the pair. Federer thinks of this as just a requirement to keep himself tournament-ready. Still, if he has enough time, he wishes to increase it. Muscles are what makes his powerful backhands tick. In order to maintain these, Federer lifts weights and dumb bells to strengthen his arm muscles. Doing so has made his strikes and serves feared by many opponents. He also skips ropes and does a lot of sprinting to heighten his staying power in every game. With lateral lunges and twists, he improves his body’s total flexibility to respond to his opponent’s strikes. He would even use the barbell doing lunges and twists to develop more muscles. The tennis champion would never leave behind his medicine ball when he goes out for a workout. It has served him well in boosting his agility and upper body muscles. With a partner, often Paganini, he would run sideways across the court while tossing the medicine ball to Paganini in order to enhance hand and body coordination. He would shuffle his feet passing and getting the ball from Paganini so he can increase his agility at the same time. Federer eats to complement and supplement his tedious and long workouts. His tired body would naturally require him to eat the right food. Unlike others, he rarely takes in dietary supplements though. He usually takes in food that will not compromise his gains in the workouts. When he is away for the big games or for doing functions, he leashes his cravings. However, when he is in home with the family in Basel, Switzerland, he allows himself to enjoy the food.
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Follow along as Chennis Berry takes you through the same coaching points and fundamentals of playing offensive line that he uses to coach up his guys at the college level. Using whiteboard instruction and game film, Coach Berry takes you through the intricate techniques necessary for success when running the inside zone.
Click the link above to watch the whole thing!
About this Course
Learn Inside Zone Techniques used by Coach Chennis Berry at Southern University.
Coach Credentials
Chennis BerryAssistant Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator / Offensive Line Southern UniversityFollow
Chennis Berry was hired as the Assistant Head Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach at Southern University in 2013. In his two seasons with the program, he has helped guide the Jaguars to two SWAC West titles and the 2013 SWAC Championship. Southern ranked seventh nationally in fewest sacks allowed in 2014 and led the SWAC in Red Zone efficiency. Individually, OL Dewayne Houston and WR Willie Quinn were each named All-Americans and First Team All-SWAC selections while QB Austin Howard was named the conference’s freshman of the year.
In 2013, QB Dray Joseph earned SWAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors for his role in leading the Jaguars to their first conference championship since 2003. WR Lee Doss was named an All-American and First Team All-SWAC while OL Anthony Mosley received Second Team All-SWAC honors. Under Berry’s direction, Joseph, Doss and Mosley combined to lead the SWAC in Passing Efficiency and earn a second place conference ranking in Passing Offense. Overall, Berry has 20 years of college coaching experience and has earned an excellent reputation for developing solid offensive lines while orchestrating rushing attacks that lead to record-breaking performances.
Over his career, Berry has also shown a willingness to expand his coaching knowledge. As part of the NFL's Minority Internship Program, Berry has interned with six different NFL teams, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers and Chicago Bears. In 2009, he participated in the NCAA Expert Coaches Academy Forum. The program prepares young minority assistant coaches for head coaching positions.
A native of Cleveland, Berry came to Southern following two seasons as the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Howard University. In 2012, the Bison finished second in the MEAC with a 7-4 record which was the program’s first winning season in seven years. The offensive line was key to the Bison’s success as Howard finished 2nd in the MEAC with a 365.4 yards per game average. The Bison also were second in the MEAC in rushing with 221.5 yards per game average. These accomplishments led to four Howard offensive linemen earning All-MEAC honors (Josh Matthews, Davin Morris, Bradley Bush Johnson, and David Wilson). The offensive line also blocked for the MEAC’s leading rusher, Terrence Lefall, who rushed for 1,200 yards in only eight games.
US Sports Network News! Having fun and helping the peeps'. Using Sports as a platform to Inform, Educate, Inspire, While Entertaining you with the best of sports, talk, music, and fun. Be on the lookout for our frequent 'Teachable Moments' This will be a sports and media experience like you never expected. We always welcome your feedback. If you like us or even if you don't, we are always going to love you! Thanks for stopping by!
🙋🏼 I thought I’d share my experience of the immune boost with you all. I've suffered with psoriasis since I was 11 (I’m 35 now) & suffered with sciatica for the past 5 years. I recently completed the Valentus 12in24 program & during that time I noticed a difference In my psoriasis, I can see patches of my actual skin emerging. I’ve tried so many lotions & potions to combat this but I've NEVER seen such results in a short time. I also noticed my sciatica that I’m always in pain with went away! For 3 days over the weekend i was gone and completely forgot to take my immune boost & I woke up Saturday morning my skin feeling itchy & my pains had come back. I didn’t think much about it until tonight. I’m sitting here realizing that after starting the immune again Monday night the pains have completely gone again & so has the itching. Now I’m not making any medical claims here at all just sharing what has happened to me.
Chennis BerryAssistant Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator / Offensive Line Southern UniversityFollow
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