Even with great advances in prenatal care and neonatal medicine, sometimes a child's growth and development just don't go according to the parents' plan. Cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and genetic variations may all cause children to experience delays in physical development, causing them to achieve milestones such as rolling over or crawling later than the norm for their age group. 

One of the biggest challenges facing a child living with a neuromuscular issue is the development of postural control to keep the head, neck, trunk, and shoulders in proper alignment. If the child has to use his or her hands and arms to achieve upper body control, it interferes with the development of arm and shoulder mobility in addition to motor coordination skills such as grasping and manipulation. A lack of postural control also interferes with the ability to scan and focus on his or her surroundings as well as eating, breathing, and speaking. A helpful tool in the therapeutic box is a corner chair.

The Kaye Corner Chair is a therapeutic seating device designed to encourage proper development of postural control by supporting the proper alignment of the head, neck, trunk, and pelvis. Rehabmart offers two from Kaye, the C4 and C5, appropriate for ages eight months to four years, and four to nine years respectively. The chair has a V-shaped back with padded headrests and a removable back cushion to facilitate proper alignment and extension of the child's spine, shoulders, and head, allowing the eyes and head free movement while preventing scapular retraction and shoulder extension. A tray provides support from the front as well as a convenient surface for therapeutic tasks, toys, or coloring and writing. Removal of the back cushion encourages and assists the child in bringing his or her arms forward across the tray, helping to develop flexibility while allowing him or her to do a little exploring.

In addition to encouraging proper upper body alignment and positioning, the Kaye Corner Chair has features that help to develop this same alignment in the legs and pelvis. Its seat may be raised or lowered to allow for flexion or extension in the knees and hips. The abductor may be placed between the knees at the front of the seat to allow for pelvic abduction whether the hips and knees are flexed or extended. To increase pelvic stability, the seat belt may be positioned across the hips.
 
The chairs both consist of a seat and a base along with a tray, an abductor, back cushion and seat belt. Optional swiveling casters are also available for enhanced mobility. The seat, back, and base are made from laminated plywood, and the cushions are covered in vinyl, making the entire unit easy to clean with a cloth and mild cleaning solution.

Kaye Corner Chairs are designed with features that help the caregivers by ensuring that the child is properly positioned at all times, giving them a little respite from the thousands of tasks involved in nurturing a differently-abled kid. They provide a safe, stable base of operations from which a child can develop the motor skills needed so they can learn to optimally position themselves and interact with the world around them. The chairs are suitable for use at home as well as in therapeutic settings and classrooms for special needs students.

Fran Jablway,
Medical Consumer Writer
and
Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Team Leader & CEO