A 21-year-old male with cerebral palsy uses a wheelchair and has scoliosis with pelvic obliquity. The adaptive seating likely also accommodates which deformity?

• A. Sacral sitting
• B. Decorticate rigidity
• C. Thoracic kyphosis
• D. Windswept hips

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is that adaptive seating for someone with cerebral palsy who has scoliosis and pelvic obliquity must address not only the spine and pelvis but also the way the hips position themselves when the pelvis tilts. Windswept hips describe a pattern created by pelvic obliquity where the hips sit in opposite directions relative to the pelvis—one hip flexed and adducted, the other flexed and abducted. This asymmetric hip positioning is a common accompanying deformity in CP with pelvic obliquity, and a well-designed seating system will contour around each hip and pelvis to keep the trunk and pelvis balanced, provide even pressure distribution, and prevent further tilt. That’s why windswept hips is the deformity most likely to be accommodated by adaptive seating in this scenario.