Tamara Cavallaro, Chiara Bezzi, Laura Magnani
Terapisti della Neuro e Psicomotricità dell’Età evolutiva as Paediatric Therapists
F. Franzi, Massage therapist
A.R.R.I. SALUS Abbiategrasso (Milan) – Private rehabilitation centre Italy

This article reports the experience of a re-adapted handmade car chair for babies in an active and resting system for children between 2 and 6 years of age who attend our department and are affected with neuromotor pathologies and visual impairments both central and peripherical.

This project has been designed because of the lack of an occupational therapist in our rehabilitation centre and the difficulties of receiving immediately a suitable seating support from the national health system, that might enhance and improve our rehabilitation-habilitation aims especially for subjects whose manipulation and visual-motor competences are compromised and altered by attentive deficits (ADHD), extrapiramidal signals and poor antigravitational control.

Furthermore these problems require continual and progressive efforts by the rehabilitation team to find some prompt, useful, available and easy to handle solutions, that are able to meet effectively any kind of daily family needs and the physiotherapy and psychomotor goals.

The design of the chair takes into consideration the studies and Prof. Le Metayer’s book “Reéducation cerebro-moteur de l’enfant: education terapeutique” (1998). It is remarkable that if the practnostic memory on the right seating position is not always boosted, the natural tendency is to lack progressively and unconsciously.

So our Italian degree as “Terapisti della Neuro e Psicomotricità dell’Età Evolutiva” (Paediatric Therapist) and our plan of studies has spurred us on to face and overcome the challenge. In the meantime we have been listening to family needs and co-operating with them.

The chair is not only perceived as a splint, where the child is set on a previous habilitation program and a right information and training period for carers, but it is also a support to empower children to achieve their maximum potential and integration into society.

Up to now the chair has been tested on ten children particularly those with visual perception problems and physical pathologies, but there is still work required in order to improve this project.