Hesperian Health Guides

Sitting Aids

In this chapter:

A wide variety of early sitting aids are included in the chapter on cerebral palsy. Special seating adaptations for chairs and wheelchairs are in Chapter 65. Here we include a few more ideas:

Wooden seat to which a strap that separates legs can be attached.
seat for child with spasticity who has knock-knee contractures (one of many possibilities)
strap for keeping legs apart (one around each leg and tied through holes in sides and seat)
holes for straps
Girl on adapted swing.
tire seat or swing bends head, body, and shoulders forward to help control spasticity.
A log or roll seat helps the child child who has spasticity or difficulty with balance sit more securely with legs apart. Log should be as high as the knees. Leave a little room between the cut-out circle in the table and the child’s belly.
Toddler in adapted seat with table, with log keeping legs apart.
Seat made out of box, wood panel fits to make it a desk.
seat for a child with spasticity whose body stiffens backward

Design from Handling the Young Cerebral Palsied Child at Home.

OTHER IDEAS FOR HOLDING LEGS APART

From Don Caston and Healthlink Worldwide

3 versions of seats with back board and trunk to separate legs
from other parts of this book
Child sitting in pole seat, child sitting in box seat with leg separator, child sitting on rocking horse.
"Maricela's Story" "A “Playground for All” Built by Children —
Projimo, Mexico"
Child sits against box with holes for heels and pot between legs, child sits on log with backrest, child strapped into wooden chair, child on log with back rest and table.
"Prevention and Early Management of Contractures" "How Can We Help?" "Deciding Where to Place Body Guides" "Self-Feeding Suggestions for the Child with Cerebral Palsy"


Seat made out of box, wood panel fits to make it a desk. Seat painted like a fish.
Photo of child in wooden seat.
A seat and table like this in the form of a fish on the ocean makes sitting in a special seat fun. So do the village-made toys (PROJIMO, seat design by Don Caston). The seat can be used for straight leg sitting, or put on top of the table for bent-knee sitting. Other designs include “squirrel” seats on “tree” tables.


This page was updated:18 Sep 2024