I've talked in the past about trying to vary Madi's activities while she stands up. Usually that is a mix of spending time using the walker, spending time in the learning tower, spending time holding my hands to walk, getting carried in her HKFOs, and spending some time in her Rifton mobile stander. Madi is two, so she likes to keep busy. Changing activities often keeps her happy and also keeps her upright, which is so very, very important for her. It's important for her bone growth, muscles, bowels and bladder, circulation, and so much more!
The only thing that I wish I could change about the stander is I wish it had a removable handle. I'd prefer to take this out, instead of Madi's wheelchair, but it's hard to use in busy parking lots and places like that. Because of the design, I have to bend over to push Madi, and it is hard to safely maneuver Madi around without killing my back and while watching Conner. Madi is amazing at getting around in it without help, but I always push her in the parking lot to keep her safe (ask her how much she loves that ;). She always yells, "NO! I DO IT BY MYSELF!" and gets upset at me). I have plans to try and get someone to rig a little handle for me, so I'm hoping I can work something out there. Other than the lack of the handle, the stander is amazing!!!
We bought a little table that works great with Madi's mobile stander. We got it at Costco and it was only $20 but it is adjustable to four heights. It fits when she is standing in her HKFOs, when she is in her stander, and when she is in her wheelchair; it's great! I love easy and simple solutions that are affordable! Here's a picture of Madi using it in her stander:
We eat at the table, do stamps, color, paint, make food, and so much more. It gets a lot of love! In fact, it has some paint and ink stains to prove it!
If you want to check out Rifton's stander, you can go to http://www.rifton.com/products/standing/. They also have a blog you can read at http://www.rifton.com/adaptive-mobility-blog/.
We found our stander on craigslist and were able to buy it because of the money we get through Madi's amazon associates account. Anytime you purchase through Amazon and use Madi's link, we get money back that we use towards therapy equipment and other equipment that insurance won't cover. THANK YOU to everyone who purchases through her link for us!! You are such a blessing! http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=missmadi-20
That stander is way cool! You may ask some handy friends for some help on a handle. When Gage was using his walker, he could make it go, but not turn it, so I was always kicking the wheels or bending down to help him. A handy man at church saw this and made a handle for me that stuck out of the back. It was made out of PVC pipe. He made a base to it, and then we could screw in the handle when we needed it.
ReplyDeleteWe're getting one of those for Kingsley! I feel like I've been saying that forever. We were supposed to order it on Wednesday, but had to cancel our appointment because he was sick. So good to hear how much you guys like and use it. Good tip about the table! I'll have to look into that.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing all the pictures and videos of Madi using standers and walkers. My daughter is about to be fitte for her first stander. She has hypotonia, global delays and is blind and we don't yet know why (she is 15 months). Her therapists are wonderful and have said she is ready for a stander. I read about rifton standers and walkers and wanted to see pictures/videos of actual kids using them. I am super excited and hope my Sarah does as well as Madi. Best of luck to you and Madi and I admire your courage and will return to your site to see how things are going! - Helen in Delaware
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your tips!
ReplyDeleteMy son is 3 now,, we're considering buying a rifont stander. Is it still usefull? He needs Hkafos, walker, wheel cahir. Will he rellay use his stander? Or with age coming, didi you noticed that sifton stand chair was not that usefull for MadI, Is she still using it? + mu son is going to wear a scoliosis brace 23/24H.