The muscle problems that accompany cerebral palsy can come with a lot of pain, and many children have a great deal of trouble sitting in normal chairs. There are many adaptive chairs used to improve the child’s sitting posture, and especially for feeding. Generally, an adequately arranged wheelchair with good trunk support, head control, and a lap tray can double up as a feeding chair as well. Some parents and therapists prefer to have a separate feeding chair; a frequently used type is a tumble form, which is a foam-molded chair in which the child can bend forward. For the child who has a tendency to extend the head and spine, these chairs work well for feeding. However, these tumble form chairs provide very poor postural control for the child that tends to collapse forward and should not be used as wheelchair inserts or for a significant portions of the child’s sitting time during the day. Corner chairs are another form of common seating for disabled children; they help the child to develop balance while sitting. These chairs are very simple, but provide excellent seating options to allow the child to develop sitting coordination and balance on the floor.

Many children with cerebral palsy find it difficult to sit with their legs straight out in front of them. This becomes problematic when the child is still quite small, and his or her legs cannot reach to bend over the edge of a couch or chair. This problem is easily remedied by purchasing (or for the crafty parents out there, building) a smaller chair that allows your child to bend his or her knees, and still maintain good posture.