Rifkin Chair/Rifton Chair

[Guest guest]

Toni, Thanks for your post about the use of such a chair has been beneficial

for your child. I think that in an optimal situation, a chair of sorts

could help/work. Your post made me think about the chair a little more. I

know that some adaptive chairs merely look like high chairs, others can look

like electric chairs. I still am against the use of such a chair but, like

I said, I am very biased on this topic. There is too much area for abuse,

many professionals aren't trained to use such a device and most kids aren't

fitted for the device that they are put in.

When my son was bouncing off the walls and not paying attention, our SLP

would bounce him on a huge therapy ball for a while or use other sensory

experiences to satisfy his needs for prioceptive input (or other sensory

input) and then try to get him to refocus. One technique she used is that

she had my son pull a wagon loaded with books around the clinic prior to

starting his session. She would also have him " help " her move heavy books

off a table and onto the floor. Sensory can play such a huge part in

therapy as we learned with my son. Our SLP actually spoke all over the

state of MO about incorporating the use of sensory integration activities

into speech therapy and how it could augment progress and compliance....gosh

I miss her!

What is the typical attention span of a 21 month old anyway? I would

imagine it would be pretty short. According to

http://www.evans.amedd.army.mil/Peds/PDF/add.pdf

<http://www.evans.amedd.army.mil/Peds/PDF/add.pdf> " A normal attention

span is 3 to 5 minutes per year of a child's age. Therefore, a 2-year-old

should be able to. concentrate on a particular task for at least 6 minutes,

and a child entering kindergarten should be able to ....

I just shutter at the thought of using a Rifton or other sort of chair for

keeping a child still. Make sure the child is fitted for the chair and that

the therapist is trained to use it. There are cases all over our nation

about children who get hurt or even die from such chairs. My son was put in

one and got bruises and underwent psycho-therapy for PTS after being put in

such a chair for " not sitting still during circle time and not completing

fine motor tasks " . When I talked to the Exceptional Children's Assistance

Center in for NC, http://www.ecac-parentcenter.org/ about my son being put

in such a chair, they said using such a chair, especially at the tender age

of 5 years old, was unnecessary.

My best advice is to be present during EVERY session in which this chair

would be used.

The state of NC is currently exploring legislation that would mandate that

teachers be trained and annually certified on the safest forms of restraint,

used only as a last resort. For more info on this bill go to:

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2003 &

BillID=s977

Here are some additional articles:

parent testimonial of after-effects from restraint

http://users.1st.net/cibra/TiedtoaChair.htm

<http://users.1st.net/cibra/TiedtoaChair.htm>

" barred by law "

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/queens/nyc-

<http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/queens/nyc->

belt1119,0,6398401.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-queens

restraints used in a certain state

http://www.bgfl.org/uploaded_documents/restrain.pdf

<http://www.bgfl.org/uploaded_documents/restrain.pdf>

Tricia Morin

North Carolina