MOTORIZED WHEELCHAIR DRIVING BY DISABLED-CHILDREN

  • 1 January 1984
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 65  (2) , 95-97
Abstract
Thirteen children with physical disabilities, normal intelligence and stable family situations were studied to determine if children under age 4 yr could learn competent control of a motorized wheelchair. Their mean age was 31.3 mo. (range 20-37 mo.). There were 6 girls and 7 boys. Each child required adaptive seating to manipulate the control stick in a conventional motorized wheelchair. Without specific training instructions, parents introduced the wheelchairs under pleasant circumstances at home. Daily logs and engine-hour-meters indicate that 12 children learned 7 preestablished driving skills within a mean cumulative period of 34.4 h (range 6.6-168 h) distributed over an average 16.3 days (range 3-50 days). Actual cumulative wheelchair, movement averaged 8.1 h (range 1.7-26.1 h). All learned a cluster of 4-5 skills over a 1-5 day period. Start-stop and circling were the 2 initial skills in all but 1 case. In 4 children, the 1st skill appeared after a latent period of 5, 6, 12 and 43 days. Children as young as 24 mo. can learn to drive motorized wheelchairs. Because of the theoretical importance of approximating normal gross motor milestones, powered mobility should be considered an early rehabilitative intervention for physically disabled children.

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