Videos
Compass Chair
Over the past few years, we've had many requests for a simple chair for mildly involved students, for students with autism spectrum disorder, and we decided to redesign the Compass Chair.
PT/OT
New Webinar on Motor Learning
April 17, 2018
by Lori Potts, PT
On April 12, we hosted a webinar, Progressive Gait Training: Motor Learning Strategies and the Research, discussing motor skill acquisition through practice, feedback and prompt reduction. It concluded with a demonstration of the Rifton Pacer and tips for therapeutic and functional use of the Pacer emphasizing the benefits of dynamic support and the reduction of physical assistance to increase...
News
The Great Bike Giveaway
February 06, 2018
by Lori Potts, PT
With spring in the air we’re talking bikes today – or rather, adaptive tricycles. Kids with disabilities want to ride just as much as any child, and with a little bit of extra support they too can navigate those inviting sidewalks. Sadly, adaptive trikes are far too rarely covered by Medicaid or insurance, even with a strong case for the therapeutic benefits of cycling...
Tips & Advice
Lifespan Care for People with Disabilities
May 23, 2017
by Elena Noble, MPT
Providing activity and mobility interventions for young adults with disabilities after they leave the school system is important, particularly for maintaining quality of life. Unfortunately this outlook is not shared by everyone. A physical therapist working with young adults with developmental disabilities wrote this to me after her efforts to get adaptive equipment for her clients had been...
News
A Great Book for a New School Year
August 05, 2016
by Elena Noble, MPT
Prince Noah is back in time for the start of a new school year. His second appearance on our blog heralds the sequel to the well-loved fairy tale The Prince Who Was Just Himself, a story about a child with Down syndrome unwittingly disarming a palace enemy through natural gifts of compassion and curiosity.
In the delightfully written Prince Noah and the School Pirates, Noah continues to be himself...
PT/OT
Studying Neurodevelopmental Disorders with the Rifton Activity Chair
November 12, 2015
by Elena Noble, MPT
From school classrooms to radiology departments to hospital feeding clinics, the Rifton Activity Chair meets a range of positioning needs in a variety of environments.
Recently we learned of yet another clinical setting where the Activity Chair has found a niche: in the study of neurodevelopmental disorders at the UC Davis MIND Institute, an internationally respected research facility. Here, the...
News
Everyone is Unique. Really?
September 01, 2015
by Carmen Hinkey
Next month brings us to National Down Syndrome Awareness Month. The industry news is full of inspirational stories of how children and adults with Down syndrome have enriched the lives of their families, peer groups, communities, and a wider acceptance of those with a third copy of the twenty-first chromosome.
The entertainment and fashion industries have done a great deal to further this effort...
News
The "Adverse Birth Outcome"
February 10, 2015
by Carmen Hinkey
I didn’t know Henry until this morning, but he’s been in my mind all day thanks to what his mother shared so honestly about having him.
In case any of us need reminding, the Washington Post carried her beautiful reminder that they are children first, their potential to learn and meet milestones far more important than their disabilities. And she takes it even farther: She is &ldquo...
Stories
Down Syndrome in Ancient Art
October 22, 2013
by Erna Albertz
Image copyright ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art Resource, NY
In preparing for a presentation on disability history I gave two weeks ago to Ministry of Health and Social Service officials in Russia, I stumbled across the research of John M. Starbuck, who examined the depiction of people with Down syndrome in ancient and medieval art. His entire paper is worth looking at but one item...
News
World Down Syndrome Day
March 19, 2013
by Erna Albertz
March 21st 2012 was the first celebration of World Down Syndrome Day. Only recently marked on the calendar by the General Assembly of the United Nations, this day is designated for raising public awareness for Down syndrome. The actual date (3/21) was not pulled out of mid-air, but has significance. It represents the triplication of the 21st chromosome which characterizes the condition.
There are some...