A chair for a partially independent person should offer help at the steps that need it, without making decisions on behalf of the person using it. The same person may manage reading alone, need more time to get ready and require assistance at another time. The choice starts from these differences: activities, supports, controls and the help available. The goal is not to use less assistance at any cost, but to find appropriate support that leaves room for personal preferences and control.
In brief
Independence should be observed activity by activity: a slow movement may still be possible, while another one requires help. The rise function and the adjustments can support everyday life when the dimensions, controls and assistance are right. The trial is there to understand which support is useful and how the person wishes to use it, without turning into rehabilitation or into a demand to do alone what is not safe.
Partial independence: look at activities, not labels
A person may walk at certain times, handle a book and use the phone, yet find it difficult to get up from a low seat. Another may need help with a transfer and choose precisely how they wish to rest. These are not contradictions: they are different activities.
Describing them separately makes it possible to identify which support is useful. Time matters too: slowness may call for patience, but on its own it is not enough to establish that someone should take over. Assessing the help needed must consider the actual movement and its safety, not the hurry of whoever is watching.
The general picture of loss of independence in older people can help guide the family. Here we look more closely at a specific situation: when some activities remain manageable and others require varying levels of help, without turning this description into a diagnosis.
What changes between the best and the most difficult moments
A single demonstration may not represent the whole day. Ask the person when they would like more support and which activities they prefer to manage themselves. Gather observations that are already available, without causing tiredness or asking for a trial at the worst time of day.
An illustrative example is a person who adjusts the backrest on their own while reading, but in the evening prefers someone to be with them when sitting back down. The need is not necessarily a different chair: it may be a clearer explanation, a better-placed control or help already planned for that moment.
If ability changes suddenly or comes with new symptoms, do not treat it as a simple adjustment preference. The appropriate healthcare professional should be involved. A map of habits is for describing; on its own it cannot explain the cause of a decline.
Four situations for recognising the help needed
The table below helps you discuss activities. It does not assign scores and does not rank the person’s worth or effort. The entries may coexist in the same day and must respect the assistance already specified.
| Situation observed | What to describe | Useful question |
|---|---|---|
| Activity managed personally | Controls, supports and position used | What do they wish to keep under their own control? |
| Activity managed with more time | Preparation and usual pauses | Is other people’s rushing making the movement harder? |
| Activity with help already planned | Who steps in and for which step | Is the help clear and available when needed? |
| Activity not manageable in the current situation | Difficulty and professional contact | Which alternative has already been defined? |
You can use the table for three activities, such as reading, sitting back down and moving up to the table. Do not ask the person to prove they can do alone what they normally do with help. A reliable description comes from listening and from routine, not from a challenge.
When uncertainty remains, write it down. “We don’t know whether this function is appropriate” is a legitimate question to take to the relevant professional, not a box to fill in with a guess.
How to interpret the help given by the rise function
Sollevita’s rise function gradually accompanies the movement towards the standing position and can be stopped using the control provided. In reverse, it can accompany the return to the seated position. It is not the same as the vertical height adjustment, which changes the height of the whole chair while the person stays seated or lying down. [1]
Being able to stop the movement makes it possible to assess intermediate positions, but it does not establish a universal height. Foot support, the person’s abilities, the presence of aids and the assistance needed must be considered together. It is not appropriate to decide on less help to “make the legs work harder” without appropriate guidance.
Suva links the person’s abilities, the aids and the training of those providing care. The principle is to coordinate these elements: an electric function can help a movement, but it does not by itself define the transfer technique or the number of people needed. [3]
A chair for a partially independent person must be well proportioned
A control that is easy to use does not correct a seat that is too deep or a head support that is out of position. Sollevita is available in seat widths of 52 or 63 cm and three seat depths: the dimensions should relate to the body and the activities, not simply be chosen according to the space available at home. [1]
The three-layer seat construction and the high backrest contribute to the comfort design. During an appropriate trial, however, observe the complete relationship: pelvis, back, feet and armrests. A pleasant feeling in the first minute does not yet answer the question of how to prepare for standing up or how to retrieve the handset.
The technical features of the Sollevita chair help you prepare precise questions. The possibility of customisation does not amount to a promise that every body type or need can be accommodated without checking.
The remote control as a way to make choices
The person should be able to recognise the control, hold it when that is intended and find the buttons in the positions they use. Where to keep it and how to retrieve it after a break also matter. A handset that has been well explained but is left behind the backrest does not offer practical control.
Sollevita uses from 5 to 8 independent motors, depending on the weight capacity. The benefit of the adjustments should be translated into activities: changing a support, reading, moving into a rest position. It does not require memorising every combination on the first day or using all the functions at every break. [1]
When the controls are operated with help, roles and methods must follow the instructions and the individual guidance. The person stays involved through communication, the choice of position and the possibility of asking for the movement to stop. Independence is not measured merely by counting how many button presses happen without help.
Helping without pre-empting every decision
Asking before stepping in can clarify whether the person wants a break, more time or practical help. Listening does not mean leaving a person who needs supervision on their own. It means keeping the link between what they want and the support needed clear.
The French National Authority for Health (Haute Autorité de Santé) values user involvement and attention to experience and preferences. In everyday use of the chair this can translate into simple questions: “Would you like to change position?”, “Would you like me to show you the control?”, “Shall we stop here?”. It is not a technique for automatically reducing assistance. [2]
Also avoid the opposite mistake: asking the person to complete a movement without help to prove their independence. The functions must not become an unprescribed rehabilitation exercise. If supervision, supports or involvement in standing up need to be redefined, involve the professionals who look after the person.
Table and daily life: choosing how to take part
The desired activity may be a meal, a game or a conversation. The removable upper armrest section can make it easier to move up to the table, while removing the whole side panel serves a different kind of access. The actual table and the person’s supports need to be checked. [1]
The manually moved wheeled base lets the person providing care move the chair by hand over short distances indoors, following the instructions and along suitable routes. The battery powers the chair’s adjustments; it does not drive the wheels. [1]
A person may prefer to walk or use a wheelchair to reach the table, depending on their abilities and the aids provided. The wheeled base should not impose a single route. The value lies in having a useful option, not in replacing every activity with the same seating spot.
Comfort today, without buying out of fear of tomorrow
Comfort is a legitimate need even when help with standing up is only needed occasionally. Reading, watching television and resting may call for precise supports and adjustments without a complete loss of independence.
Sollevita offers functions that may find different uses over time. This flexibility should be presented without promising that the product will accommodate any future change. A new need may require other aids, a different assessment or a different arrangement of the home.
During the consultation, describe what matters today and the issues already known, without building alarmist scenarios. An informed choice comes neither from denying a current need nor from making future dependence seem inevitable.
What to look out for after the first few uses
Review the activity map with descriptive questions: can the handset be reached? Does the person recognise the adjustment they want? Does the person providing care respect the pauses? Which step remains unclear? Do not add up the answers to get a self-sufficiency score.
A more understandable activity can be a good result even when it still requires assistance. Likewise, a greater number of movements performed alone does not prove a clinical improvement. If the situation changes, distinguish a difficulty of use from a healthcare need.
Update the guidance when an aid is changed or when the person receives new recommendations. An initial checklist is a starting point; it should not fix the way care is provided for good.
FAQ
Common questions
Is a riser recliner only suitable when you can no longer stand up on your own?
No. It can also be considered when help is needed at certain times or for part of the movement. Suitability, however, depends on supports, abilities and the assistance needed, not only on the presence of the function.
Does using it automatically make you more dependent?
Dependence cannot be inferred from the mere presence of an aid. What matters is how it fits into the person’s activities and the guidance given for them. The chair is not evidence of either a decline or a recovery in motor ability.
Can I stop the rise function before it reaches its highest point?
The function can be stopped using the control provided. The appropriate point should be checked for the individual person and the sequence needed; do not choose a random height or reduce assistance to turn use into an exercise.
How should partial independence be described to the Sollevita Team?
Mention concrete activities and differences already observed during the day: what the person manages on their own, what takes more time and the help already planned. There is no need to cause fatigue or carry out tests without supervision to gather information.
Can an independent person also choose advanced comfort functions?
Yes. Seat quality, supports and adjustments can be useful for reading and resting. The value should relate to the activities the person wants to do today, without requiring a diagnosis or playing on fear of future problems.
When is a professional reassessment needed?
When abilities, tolerance, supports or the assistance needed change, especially if new difficulties appear. The Sollevita Team clarifies questions about the product; healthcare and care decisions rest with the relevant professionals.
Sources and references
[1] Sollevita — Features and construction of the chair.
[3] Suva · Switzerland — Smart transfers in help and care (in French).
Start from the activities you want to keep managing
Note down three important activities and the support they require at different times. Find out more about Sollevita’s comfort and independence adjustments and go over the map with the Sollevita Team: the goal is proportionate help, not a demonstration of independence at any cost.
