For a long time Mikey only had his pram for seated support which meant every day (sometimes more than once) I had to carry the heavy seat inside and attach it to the hi-lo indoor base. It was quite frustrating but it was our only option for seated play and meal times.
Fortunately our proactive Physio arranged for us to look at some separate indoor options and we decided on the Rifton Activity Chair. One of the big selling points for me was the wipeable fabric.
The main thing Mikey’s needs support with when sitting is his trunk. When unsupported he flops to the side or the front and face-plants. He also needs a good harness that is tight at the waist to keep him in place when he kicks ferociously. I like that the Rifton harness has the separate waist strap so when Mikey’s having a good day we can keep the shoulder straps undone. Mikey’s legs are very abducted so it’s best for seating to push his thighs together, the Rifton has quite a wide seat so it doesn’t give him that support. There I also no pommel so when he kicks a lot he can slip down (see pic below), as long as the waist strap is nice and tight this isn’t normally a problem.
Like a lot of disability equipment the foot rest is very low. For Mikey they made a custom foot wedge that was covered in wipeable fabric as he digs holes in the foam when it’s uncovered.
The chair has a hi-lo base with wheels so you can move it around the house. It is extremely heavy so we rarely take it outside as we have stairs. We rarely adjust the base to be lower, the only time is on a lazy weekend when we feed him in the lounge while sitting on the couch.
We love Mikey’s Rifton Activity Chair. It ticks all the boxes for us and it is growing nicely with him.