Special Education

Cerebral Palsy is a result of abnormalities in the parts of the brain that control muscle movements. For children with cerebral palsy, their muscle control, coordination, and posture will be affected to varying degrees by this faulty development or damage to areas of their brain. Cerebral Palsy affects approximately three out of every 1,000 children, and symptoms can range from mild to severe physical...

The Rifton Activity Chair was designed to encourage functional and active sitting postures for children with cognitive and physical disabilities. Because such children can present with a wide variety of diagnoses and positioning requirements, helping them participate in classroom or family activities can be tough, but with the right chair it’s possible. The Rifton Activity Chair, because of its...

Therapists, teachers and parents are well aware that children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities can face more challenges (and pose more challenges) than the average child. This can be particularly true during mealtimes. Feeding problems commonly associated with disability include dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), and gastro-intestinal reflux (spitting up frequently) as well as oral...

Feeding children with oral-motor disability is often challenging, and positioning a child for this task is the key to success. The chair that we like to use for feeding in our clinic is the Rifton Activity Chair. Using the Rifton Hi-Lo Activity Chair is a useful tool in therapy with patients who have feeding and/or swallowing difficulties.  Most of my clientele have some type of neurological...

An ICF-based Approach Contributed by Petros Stamatiadis, PT Adaptive seating is essential for children with neurological or neuromuscular disorders such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and meningomyelocele . Because they are prone to developing scoliosis and other musculoskeletal deformities, children with severe motor disorders need special needs seating equipment to help with positioning and...

Adaptive seating is a big part of pediatric and school-based therapy. Active sitting chairs, through providing unique features and prompts, support postures that enable. With this in mind, the following post series will be dedicated to exploring the concepts and benefits of adaptive seating. The first post – Active Sitting for Task Participation: The Role of Adaptive Chairs – is introductory...

Adaptive seating is a big part of pediatric and school-based therapy. Active sitting chairs, through providing unique features and prompts, support postures that enable. With this in mind, the following post series will be dedicated to exploring the concepts and benefits of adaptive seating. The first post – Active Sitting for Task Participation: The Role of Adaptive Chairs – is introductory...

Adaptive seating is a big part of pediatric and school-based therapy. Active sitting chairs, through providing unique features and prompts, support postures that enable. With this in mind, the following post series will be dedicated to exploring the concepts and benefits of adaptive seating. This first post – Active Sitting for Task Participation: The Role of Adaptive Chairs – is introductory...