Adaptive Mobility and Positioning Blog

Children with cerebral palsy benefit from adaptive standing for contracture management

Physical inactivity is the fourth risk factor for mortality worldwide. In 2010, to counteract the debilitating effects of inactivity and sedentary lifestyles, the World Health Organization (WHO) published guidelines for physical activity across the lifespan.

A newly published scoping systematic review highlights the use of gait trainers in children, adolescents and adults with non-ambulant cerebral palsy.

The first few years of a child’s life are a critical time of cognitive, emotional and physical development. Early active movement and environmental exploration drive development through the building of cortical connections and physical adaptation in response to the movement.

For children with multiple disabilities, toilet training is a challenging process. This whitepaper describes the effective use of prompts to shape behaviors and function during the toileting process for successful outcomes in children with physical disabilities.

A recent scoping review on supported standing describes the evidence, outcomes and lived experience of adaptive standing intervention in children and young adults with cerebral palsy.

Current evidence endorses adaptive cycling as an effective and promising intervention to improve motor and social outcomes for children with cerebral palsy.

Research continues to increase knowledge in the field of motor learning. Understanding the mechanisms of motor learning can contribute to therapist interventions to further promote motor skills.

This excellent new study provides clinical practice guidelines at the activities and participation level of the ICF to families and therapists, addressing which interventions are effective and evidence-based.

This new exploratory and descriptive study is the first to measure weight-bearing during standing in different degrees of hip abduction, stander inclination and stander orientation.