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The TAYLORBAR(R) is a prone positioning device that gently and comfortably keeps a child in the prone position to facilitate valuable "tummy time," while allowing them the freedom to move about on their tummy unimpeded.  It eliminates rolling, encourages upper extremity and core muscle exercise, and helps a child progress to a four-point position and crawling.  The product does not interfere with any extremity range-of-motion, attaches with velcro, and is made of a soft fleece material with a non-skid liner that wraps around the child's torso.  It is very light weight, (only 11 oz), and is machine washable.  The anti-roll bar is approximately 22" long.

Hi.  We are Paul and Jackie Rozema of Holland, MI, and are the inventors of the TAYLORBAR(R).  We developed the TAYLORBAR(R) to assist our granddaughter, Taylor, in overcoming one of the many obstacles she faced, (impaired mobility), due to the genitic conditions she was born with.  The world was blessed with Taylor in April of 2004, when she was born to our daughter, Katie, and her husband, Vince Tortonesi.  Taylor has a chromosome disorder called 4p- Syndrome, (also known as Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome), and she also has Mitochondrial disease.  These conditions have caused her to have hypotonia (low muscle tone) and unstable joints, which are two of the many symptoms that have contributed significantly to her delayed gross motor development. 
                                                                                                                             
                                                           
 
In her first two years of life, Taylor did not have enough upper body strength to push herself up with her arms in order to get into a four-point position, as a child would do to begin learning to crawl.  Taylor's only means of mobility to get from point A to point B was barrel rolling.  She had learned and adapted to her own form of mobility, and she was very proficient at it.  She was so adept at rolling, that she felt no motivation to stay on her tummy and was extremely resistant to this position.  It was a monumental chore for Taylor's parents and therapists to keep her prone in order to work on strengthening her core and arm muscles, so that she could eventually learn to crawl.

By the time Taylor was about two years old, we were all quite frustrated with almost a complete lack of progress in this area.  After finding out that there were no products available to assist in keeping Taylor prone for her therapy, my wife and I began engineering a device that would keep a child in the prone position without assistance from a parent or therapist, thereby freeing them to provide the desired therapy.  After considerable thought, a lot of discussion, a couple of arguments, and quite a bit of trial and error, we developed such a device, and it worked beautifully!  Until it is removed, the child will stay in the prone position (on their tummy) - the natural position for early core and arm muscle development.

Within a couple months of using it, Taylor learned to push up on her arms and began combat crawling.  When the ability to roll was taken away from her, the motivation to move in other ways was initiated.  Several months later, she was strong enough to get herself into a four-point position, and eventually she became strong enough to four-point crawl.  She then had the strength and motivation to learn other new skills, (such as transitioning herself from laying to sitting, tall kneeling, and pulling to stand.)  This was enormous progress for a child with her delays, and it was an exceedingly emotional and heart-warming event to watch unfold.  Many prayers of heavenly thanks were said during this period of time.  Taylor's upper extremity and core muscle strength continued to improve now that she could be kept on her tummy, and her parents and therapists could concentrate on providing her with the necessary therapy.
                                                
Taylor's therapists at her Early Childhood Development Center were very impressed with the positive results they experienced from using the device, and they soon ordered several others for use with other children.  We have made many others for children of parents in Katie's support groups, and we have received many positive testimonials from both parents and professionals alike.  Taylor's strength and endurance continues to improve, and she is now walking.  She also continues to deal positively with her other challenges, and she is of course our little angel.  In our modest opinion, and her therapists' as well, her progress and advancement with early muscle strength issues was helped significantly with the Tummy Time Prone Positioner.

After the success we experienced with Taylor, along with all the positive feedback we received from many therapists and parents, we decided to start the process of having the device patented.  We currently have a patent-pending on it and expect a full patent to be issued this spring (2009).  We also had the product trademarked "TAYLORBAR(R)."  It is being manufactured in Indiana and is marketed by Sammons Preston in Illinois.  There is a significant deficit in babies getting enough tummy time, resulting in an increase in early motor delays.  The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is now urging parents to give babies more tummy time.  (See "Why Tummy Time" tab.)  Based on the positive results that we have seen with Taylor, as well as the encouraging feedback that we have received from therapists and other users, we are confident that the TAYLORBAR(R) will be a valuable aid to parents and caregivers in giving children safe and proper tummy time.