Category Archives: Alternative & Active Seating

Learn about alternative and active seating solutions designed to support posture, improve attention, and promote core strength for children and adults in classrooms, therapy, and at home.

Dynamic Seating: Boosting Focus, Movement, and Posture in Learning Environments

February 11, 2025Alternative & Active Seating, Ball Chairs, Wobble Stoolsclassroom strategies, occupational therapy (OT) tools, product spotlightAllyson Locke, M.S., OTR/L

In today’s dynamic classrooms and therapy settings, keeping students engaged and focused can be a challenge—especially for those who struggle with sitting still. But what if seating could encourage movement while enhancing concentration? That’s the power of dynamic seating for learning. Alternative seating solutions like the Kore Wobble Chair, Wiggle Wobble Chair Feet by Bouncyband, and The AlertSeat allow children to stay active while working at standard desks or tables, promoting better posture, focus, and core strength. For floor-based learning, options such as floor cushions, scoop rockers, and Howda Designz Chairs provide comfortable, flexible seating that supports sensory needs and active learning. At Therapro, we believe that active seating isn’t just a trend—it’s a proven strategy for enhancing learning, movement, and overall well-being.

What is Dynamic Seating?

Dynamic seating refers to chairs or seating solutions that allow for some degree of movement. Unlike traditional chairs, these seats encourage slight movements that help improve focus and engage muscles in the body, especially in the core and trunk. This kind of seating is ideal for students or individuals who struggle with staying seated for long periods but still need to focus on tasks like reading, writing, or listening.

Some examples of dynamic seating for learning include:

Kore Kids Wobble Chair for dynamic movement while seated

Kore Wobble Chairs: These chairs feature a rounded base that allows children to rock, tilt, or swivel while seated. They are perfect for classrooms and therapy settings where movement is essential for focus and engagement.

black chair with Wiggle Wobble Chair Feet attached for a dynamic seating option

Wiggle Wobble Chair Feet by Bouncyband: These simple, rubber feet can be attached to most standard chairs, transforming them into dynamic, wobble seating. They are an excellent solution for classrooms or home offices.

Adult Size Howda Hug Design Chari for a dynamic sitting option at floor level.

The Howda Designz Chairs: Designed for floor-based learning, Howda Hug Design Chairs offer flexible, supportive seating that promotes core engagement, posture, and sensory input. Their lightweight, adjustable design allows for gentle rocking, helping improve focus and self-regulation in classrooms, therapy sessions, and home learning spaces.

How Does Dynamic Seating Help?

Improved Focus and Engagement:

For many children, especially those with ADHD, sitting still for long periods can be a struggle. Dynamic seating offers an outlet for excess energy, helping them stay focused on tasks without feeling restless. By allowing movement, these chairs help children channel their energy into productive ways, which leads to improved engagement in learning.

Better Posture and Core Strength:

Sitting on wobble seating, therapy balls, or using floor cushions helps engage the core muscles, which can lead to better posture over time. For kids who have trouble sitting upright in traditional chairs, this added stability from active seating encourages proper alignment and muscle engagement, promoting overall physical health.

Sensory Integration and Regulation:

For children with sensory processing challenges, dynamic seating can help self-regulate. Movement allows for sensory input, which can calm or energize a child, depending on their needs. It offers them a way to manage sensory overload while remaining engaged with their environment.

Ideal Use Cases for Dynamic Seating:

In Classrooms:

Dynamic seating can benefit students with attention challenges, sensory needs, or those who require additional support to remain focused during lessons or independent work. Products like the Kore Wobble Chair and Wiggle Wobble Chair Feet can be used in classrooms to promote active engagement.

In Therapy Sessions:

Therapists use dynamic seating to help children improve their motor skills, posture, and sensory integration. It’s an effective tool for occupational therapy and other therapies that target movement and coordination. The AlertSeat is a great option for therapists looking to provide a subtle yet effective seating solution.

At Home:

Parents can incorporate dynamic seating in their home learning environments. This allows kids to stay engaged during homework or study time while benefiting from the added movement.

Dynamic seating is a game-changer for those looking to improve focus, posture, and movement during learning activities. Whether in the classroom, therapy setting, or at home, active seating solutions provide the perfect balance of support and movement to enhance learning and physical well-being.

Explore our full range of Sitting and Moving seating solutions at Therapro and discover the perfect chair to support your active learners. Shop now!

Flexible Seating Spotlight: AlertSeats

July 18, 2023Alternative & Active Seating, Ball Chairsclassroom strategies, occupational therapy (OT) tools, self-regulation, sensory strategiesGuest Blogger

Could your class or sensory room benefit from flexible seating that will absorb user energy, enhance posture, encourage time on task, and moderate repetitive motion, all with a positive sensory input? If you’ve just answered ”Yes” then the AlertSeats® are right for you.

Therapro has them. Available is five sizes, AlertSeats® will fit every one of your students. Choose from 5 stock sizes to provide comfortable active movement seating for pre-K students to the tallest teens or adults.

AlertSeats® have seated thousands of active learners in hundreds of schools and therapy settings throughout the US and Canada since 2009. Made in the US, they offer guaranteed durability, versatility and comfort in a proven design.

Just three sturdy components make up the AlertSeat — Base, Ball and Cover. They ship compactly and assembly easily with adjustable firmness.

5 Sizes of the Flexible Seating option, the AlertSeats® shown with royal blue covers – Small, Small/Medium, Medium, Large, and XL. — 5 Sizes of AlertSeats® shown with royal blue covers – Small, Small/Medium, Medium, Large, and XL.

AlertSeats® in the classroom as a Flexible Seating option, with school colors, size large shown. — 5 Sizes of AlertSeats® shown with royal blue covers – Small, Small/Medium, Medium, Large, and XL.

Here’s what teachers and therapists using AlertSeat are saying:

“I absolutely love your (AlertSeat) ball chairs, and have been using them in my classroom for over 6 years.”
Jessica- New Hampshire elementary school.

“Students seem to flourish with the use of the (Alert)seats, as they are better able to focus on the work at hand.”
Indiana Life Skills teacher, students ages 7 to 12

“We’re all about data. We’ve seen results with AlertSeats in students with a range of disabilities”
Kate, a Pennsylvania large district school-based OT

AlertSeats® steel bases feature six or eight legs and rubber feet. They’re warranted for 10 years. Every assembled AlertSeats® will support up to 300 lbs. Bases nest for efficient shipping and storage, and are color matched by size. Color coded interior balls are correctly positioned inside their cover before shipment, with a manual pump included and full instructions.

AlertSeat® covers, with double zipper pulls, go on and off easily, and include strong Velcro attaching straps and a handle for a totally secure and stable but readily removable attachment to their base. Covers are sewn from an abrasion resistant laminated woven nylon fabric that is cold water washable and stain resistant.

Interior balls are heavy duty ABS molded to fit correctly and adjustable to provide the level of seating comfort that best suits each student. Ball covers and balls are warranted for 2 years in classroom service.

Optional removable mobility dollies with lockable swivel casters can be added to any AlertSeat® in all sizes except the smallest.

Flexible Seating example, the AlertSeat® showing handles that allow easy movement — AlertSeat® handles allow easy movement

AlertSeat® shown on its optional removable mobility dolly with lockable swivel casters — AlertSeat® handles allow easy movement

AlertSeats® in use will never roll around the room or create a hazard. They can easily be placed on top of the desk to facilitate after school cleaning. Other great features of AlertSeats® include:

No flimsy plastic parts or bolted connections to crack or fail in service.
Safety and total stability combined with stimulating, energy absorbing motion define AlertSeats® wherever they are in use.

Put a correctly sized AlertSeat® into your classroom, therapy or sensory room soon.

Buy Now

Guest Author: Howard Newman. Howard Newman of Newman Adaptive, introduced his unique concept of fitness and nutrition in the work place in 1991. Howard is the engineer of AlertSeat and AlertDesk.

Flexible Seating Options for Home & School

July 28, 2022Alternative & Active Seating, Sensorymovement breaks, occupational therapy (OT) tools, parent resources, sensory strategiesAllyson Locke, M.S., OTR/L

Allyson Locke M.S., OTR/L

In this post we take a dive into flexible seating options that are available for classroom and home learning environments.

First, What Does Flexible Seating Mean?

Sometimes called alternative seating, flexible seating is simply a seating option that is different from ‘traditional’ seating arrangements and is often used to address a sensory need. Traditional seating arrangements may be things like the desk chair students use in a classroom, the dining room chair at the eating table or the office chair at a work desk. Flexible seating arrangements may be a therapy ball in place of an office chair or it may be a beanbag in place of the traditional student desk setup. Read on to learn more!

classtoom showing traditional desks attached to chairs — **Traditional Classroom Seating**

Flexible seating arrangement showing a boy sitting on a Kore Wobble Stool and working at a Kore Sit to Stand Mobile desk. — **Traditional Classroom Seating**

Next, Understand the Importance of Flexible Seating Options in Learning Environments.

Having a variety of seating options helps to ensure all learners have a setup that is most effective for their learning style. Some options may help to address underlying sensory needs while other options provide the movement that has been shown to be preferred by students when learning (Cole et al., 2021, 72). Having just the right seating arrangement can make the difference between a successful learning experience and one that is full of distractions, position changes, and learning sessions that don’t last as long as they should.

Finally, Pick the Right Seating Options.

Understanding the need (or needs) you are trying to address will help you determine the best seating option(s).

For the wigglers, movers, and bouncers who just need a little extra sensory input to focus and sustain attention, try a seating option that provides movement (vestibular) or light touch (tactile) input. A seating option that provides tactile or vestibular input will help the sensory system that is seeking movement, get it in a way that is more conducive to learning and working.

Wobble Feet: These are simply four, rubber domed shape ‘feet’ that slip onto a standard chair leg. The Wobble Feet provides a subtle rocking and a soft bounce feel. These are especially popular for users who are looking for a “low profile” option; they can be slipped onto a regular classroom chair and are small enough that they are not very noticeable in the sea of classroom chairs.

Sensory Spots: Spot Sensory Se ats and Senso Seat Pads are flat pads that have a textured side. This textured side provides subtle sensory input without much challenge to postural stability. They can be used in just about any seating situation and can easily roll up when moving seats.

red and blue senso spot seats, round disks to sit on with a textured side

wiggle seat sensory cushion, butterfly shape, basketball shape, flower shape, and monster shape

Cushions: Air filled or foam cushions can be added to just about any chair, bench or even used on the floor. They are usually round or wedge shaped but newer versions now offer fun shapes like monsters or flowers. The amount of air, that can be added, to the air filled cushions is typically adjustable allowing for users to increase or decrease the amount of movement offered. Cushions are generally portable making them a great option for those who change work areas throughout the day. For even more convenience options with handles are now available!

Wobble Stools: The Kore Wobble Chair offers a seating option much like sitting on a stool with the exception of the innovative rounded bottom that allows the user to rock in all directions. In addition to the rocking movement the stool shape allows more freedom to move the legs in different positions.

the alert seat a large round ball inside a metal base with wheels for sitting

Ball Chairs: Ball chairs come in all shapes and sizes. At the most basic level a large therapy ball is used in place of a chair. This is a great option for users who need a lot of input but therapy balls are unstable and can be difficult for users with poor postural control. A base can be added under the ball to help prevent the ball from moving out of position. Another option is to use a peanut or egg shaped ball; these balls have an elongated shape that increases stability for the user. The Alert Seat puts the traditional therapy ball on a wheeled base allowing for more mobility. The Ball Chair Deluxe takes the shape of a traditional office chair but replaces the seat with a large inflated ball.

For the fidgeters, hair twirlers and those with a little extra nervous energy try a seating option that provides deep pressure input or gives the big muscles a chance to work. This type of input can help calm an anxious or overstimulated sensory system. Try:

foot swing, a small plastic stand that goes on the floor under a work space. it has two pedals to place the feet. the peals move back and forth

Body fidgets. Unlike smaller, handheld fidgets, body fidgets allow other parts of the body to interact with the fidget leaving the hands free for work. Foot fidgets can be attached to chair or desk legs, allowing users to kick, push and pull the heavy elastic bands with their feet. For users who frequently change work spaces portable foot fidgets are available; these can be placed under the workspace and interacted with in the same manner. The footroller is a unique body fidget; fidgeters place their foot on the roller, spinning it forward, backward or both ways. Another unique option is the Foot Swing; the foot swing allows for a silent swinging motion of both feet, independent of each other.

Weight. Adding weight to the lap or shoulders is a great way to center, orient and calm an over responsive or anxious system. An added bonus, many offer textured covers for additional tactile input.

boy sitting at a desk with ta weighted neck wrap around his neck and resting on his shoulders

For those who just need a change of scenery, setting up an alternative work spot is a great way to refocus. Some options include:

Standing at a counter height work space or taping work to a wall are options to allow for standing positions while working. To add a little dynamic movement try standing on a foam wedge or air cushion.
Laying Down. Working while laying on the stomach is a great way to provide proprioceptive input through the shoulders joints (perfect for those needing calming and organizing input). This position also gives students who are struggling with postural instability to get more support so they can focus on their work and not on staying stable! Use yoga mats or cushions to provide comfort and a clipboard or slant board as a work surface.
Get Cozy. Another option for a position change is sitting in a bean bag, Howda Designz Chairs or the Comfy Cozy Peapod Chair. While not the best option for all types of tasks these options are great when the activity involves reading or listening. The deep pressure input provides calming and organizing input.

Having a variety of seating options available in any learning space is a sure way to increase focus and attention. Identifying options that are appropriate for the user and the environment are keys for successful implementation.

Reference:

Cole, K., Schroeder, K., Bataineh, M., & Bataineh, A. (2021, April). Flexible Seating Impact on Classroom Environment. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 20(2), 62-74.