The development of a powered wheelchair mobility program for young children

Abstract

While early independent mobility may have positive effects on a child's development, it is still difficult for a clinician to determine when a child is developmentally ready to operate a powered wheelchair. The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center at Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center in Downey, California has undertaken a project to develop a cognitive assessment battery to predict a young child's functional performance in a wheelchair. The first phase of this project – the development of a powered mobility program (PMP) – is presented here. A 34-item assessment battery was developed through a task analysis and input from professionals who train children in mobility skills. The battery includes basic, structured and unstructured wheelchair skills. A flexible approach for administering the PMP is presented, as well as findings from twenty-four children between the ages of 18 and 36 months who were evaluated using the PMP.