Tips & Advice

Beyond the Stander

A Guide to Encouraging Standing in the Home

May 28, 2020 by Elena Noble, MPT
A little girl standing in a Rifton Mobile Stander looking at a pet bird in a cage

Encouraging standing development means thinking creatively. In the home, we can teach standing skills during routine sit-to-stand transfers or toileting breaks. Here’s how to get started.

PT/OT Positioning for Functional Seating May 13, 2020 by Lori Potts, PT
A boy sitting in a Rifton Activity Chair with a forward-leaning tilt
Active sitting promotes trunk and head control and can improve a child’s posture and functional use of the arms and head. Learn how to position and adjust an adaptive chair to encourage active sitting.
PT/OT Toileting Concepts for a Child with Special Needs May 01, 2020 by Lori Potts, PT
A girl using the Rifton HTS with the assistance of a caregiver
For many parents and teachers of children with special needs, toilet training can seem like an unattainable goal. Each child has unique health issues, physical disabilities, emotional/behavioral challenges, cognitive and learning disabilities as well as communication barriers. Nevertheless, an individualized, consistent toileting routine can have great positive impact on quality of life.
Tips & Advice The Four P’s of Gait Training in the Home April 24, 2020 by Elena Noble, MPT
A boy walking in a Rifton Pacer gait trainer with the assistance of a caregiver
Providing therapy services for your child at home has a unique set of challenges. Here are some tips and ideas for crafting a successful home gait training session.
News The Highest Risk Population: Homes for the Disabled April 16, 2020 by Ray Mommsen, Rifton Marketing
a young man using a Rifton E-Pacer with the assistance of a caretaker
Lately, during this time of upheaval and isolation, we at Rifton find our thoughts turning often to the people we serve: those sheltering at home with their families and those in group homes and care facilities. In New York now, people in homes for the developmentally disabled are at the highest risk from COVID-19 – even higher than residents of nursing homes.
Evidence Based Practice State of the Evidence: Intervention Effectiveness in Children with Cerebral Palsy March 26, 2020 by Elena Noble, MPT
A therapist helps a young girl into a gait trainer
In 2013, Iona Novak and her team put together one of the most comprehensive evidence-based overviews of pediatric interventions. With over 200 systematic reviews performed since then, this evidence update adds strength and definition to recommended interventions for children with cerebral palsy.
Evidence Based Practice Evidence Update: Clinical Practice Guideline to Improve Locomotor Function in Neurorehab February 25, 2020 by Elena Noble, MPT
man walking in the Rifton E-Pacer
New evidence in neurorehab points to the importance of intensive overground walking opportunities for individuals recovering from chronic stroke, TBI and SCI.
PT/OT Stabilizing the Pelvis with the Rifton Pelvic Harness February 18, 2020 by Lori Potts, PT
the pelvic harness on the Rifton Activity Chair
The Activity Chair pelvic harness is more effective than a seatbelt or abductor for securing the pelvis and enabling functional sitting.
PT/OT Teaching Weight Acceptance with the Rifton Activity Chair January 07, 2020 by Elena Noble, MPT
a girl sitting on a Rifton Activity Chair washing her hands
Beyond the comforts of the sofa or the academics of a classroom, sitting is a learning position – for motor skill building. For those with disabilities that limit standing and walking opportunities, this means engaging in seated postures and activities that challenge core stability, endurance, trunk and head control. And the start of the learning process always begins with transferring out of a...
PT/OT P-PAS, Adaptive Equipment and You December 03, 2019 by Sue Cecere PT, MHS
young man using a Rifton TRAM with a caretaker
The Posture and Postural Ability Scale or P-PAS is a tool that can be used to assess posture, postural ability and the quality of posture in prone, supine, sitting and standing positions. Posture, in this context, refers to the anatomical alignment of body parts in relationship to each other and the environment.
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