Tips & Advice

Pacer Prompt Reduction

Part 1: Concepts for Mobility Skill Building

July 16, 2019 by Lori Potts, PT
a boy in a Rifton pacer with prompts

Using the Rifton Pacer’s full range of adjustment possibilities will help you meet goals for mobility and activity. Individuals who cannot bear weight fully through their lower extremities, or need prompting for alignment need appropriately positioned prompts and supports. Motor skills acquisition and strength building are best achieved when an individual is given just enough support to facilitate...

Stories May I Have This Next Dance? June 24, 2019 by Jeoan Pierre, Special Education Teacher
a young girl dancing in a Rifton Pacer gait trainer in front of a red stage curtain
As a special ed teacher who has worked with students with a variety of physical challenges, I have a particular appreciation for Rifton Equipment. There’s a distinct excitement in seeing how the right equipment can change a child’s life. A piece of equipment could help someone be a runner, walk down the aisle to receive a diploma, or, in the case of one of my students, be an independent...
Tips & Advice What To Do About Gait Trainer Seat Sitters June 10, 2019 by Elena Noble, MPT
A theraband in use with a blue Rifton Pacer gait trainer.
Do you work with children whose hips won’t stay forward during gait training? Or those kids who sit on the seat of a gait trainer when you want them upright? Whether from hypotonia or decreased core stabilization, here is a great idea to help cue those hips forward in the Rifton gait trainer. 1. Position the handholds of the Rifton Pacer upside down and towards the back of the top bar. 2. After...
Stories The Compass Chair: A Classroom Seating Option for the Child with Autism May 21, 2019 by Belinda Horning, BS, Ed.
A caregiver talks to a boy sitting in a Rifton Compass Chair in a classroom.
It’s an ongoing discussion, and one that anyone involved in some way with students with autism are familiar with. How do I get my students to concentrate so that they can learn? Can they ever sit still enough at a desk to learn the basics of reading, writing and math? Can I expect my student with autism to sit and attend in class in the same way I expect it of my regular education students? If there...
News Unlikely Funding Source for Adaptive Equipment in Ohio May 14, 2019 by Elena Noble, MPT
A boy and caregiver in a classroom smile at the camera.
Employer work-place injury within schools may sound unlikely, but for those health professionals routinely assisting students with disabilities in school, it is not uncommon. In fact, the injury rate of health professionals engaging in lifts, transfers and re-positioning of patients ranks equally with those working in heavy construction settings.1,2 For this reason, in June of 2018, when the Ohio Bureau of...
Stories Jean Vanier, 1928 – 2019 May 09, 2019 by Carmen Hinkey
A portrait of Jean Vanier, founder of L'Arche
As the world mourns the passing of Jean Vanier and we consider his message, I find myself acknowledging that what his L’Arche communities provide is something each of us is actually capable of providing, though few of us do. Indeed, societies have done a horrible job welcoming people with disabilities – intellectual or physical. Our ableist conditioning prevents us from embracing what Jean...
PT/OT Useful Tips for Writing a Letter of Educational Necessity for Adaptive Equipment April 22, 2019 by Sue Cecere PT, MHS
A young girl feels flowers on a table while standing in a Rifton Mobile Stander.
As a school based practitioner, I understand the challenges and frustrations of acquiring adaptive equipment for students that will help bridge the gap between their capacity and performance. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) defines capacity as the student’s abilities in a situation apart from real life, such as during an evaluation in a quiet room with no...
PT/OT Four Essentials to Know Before Writing an Effective Letter of Educational Necessity April 10, 2019 by Sue Cecere PT, MHS
A young boy sits in a Rifton Activity Chair and uses an assistive device to talk to his caregiver.
1. Understand the requirements of federal law IDEA 2004. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that requires schools to meet the educational needs of students with disabilities. Funds for IDEA are allocated at federal, state, and local levels. To be eligible for the provisions of IDEA, the student must present with one of the following disabilities: intellectual disability...
PT/OT A patient with spinal cord injury recovers with the aid of an E-Pacer April 02, 2019 by Ray Mommsen, Rifton Marketing
a blue Rifton E-Pacer
Previously on our blog we shared a post about the use of Therabands with the TRAM from Linda Rusiecki, a physical therapist at Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids. In another post, Janette Tazzia and Linda Rusiecki tell about Janette’s recovery from a stroke. Now here’s a story of an individual impacted by a spinal cord injury who made remarkable gains with use of the Rifton E-Pacer in his...
Evidence Based Practice Teens with Cerebral Palsy Benefit from Treadmill Gait Training – A Case Story March 18, 2019 by Connie Johnson, PT, DScPT
A teenage girl with cerebral palsy stands on a treadmill in a gym.
As a pediatric physical therapist working in public schools, I want my students to move, and to move in the same way their peers do. When Rifton came out with the treadmill gait trainer, I was eager to explore increasing exercise intensity for my teenagers with mobility impairments. I was fortunate enough to get funding for one in my school. I went to the literature to look for protocols using gait treadmills for youth with disabilities and did not find much.
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