The team work closely with the charity Whizz Kidz | Children’s Wheelchair Charity | Whizz Kidz to ensure all children have access to the right wheelchair and have the skills and confidence to develop their independence. We run sessions for children who are full time and partial wheelchair users; who use manual and powered wheelchairs. The sessions are always lots of fun, and a chance to make new friends.
Many thanks to Freddie, Ruby, Grace, Thea, Liam and Maddie who have helped us to create a series of short videos, to show you their skills, that support their independence, using powered or manual wheelchairs.
Watch the videos using the links below:
The basics
Watch the video, using the following link: Wheelchair skills – The basics
- Freddie and Ruby show their pushing and driving skills, in a manual and powered wheelchair, to demonstrate how they get to where they want to go.
- Freddie, Thea and Grace demonstrate how to keep safe by ensuring their seatbelt is always fastened and how to check your brakes.
- Freddie illustrates how to turn and steer safely.
- Liam and Maddie show how to control your speed, especially down hill.
Navigating a site
Watch the video, using the following link: Wheelchair Skills – Navigation Manual and Power
- Thea shows us her weaving skills, which are useful for moving around people and objects.
- Liam and Maddie demonstrate their parking skills, especially at a desk.
- Ruby, Grace and Liam navigate rough terrain to ensure they can access outside areas in their schools.
- Liam and Grace show us how they tackle kerbs and bumps.
Using doors
Watch the video, using the following link: Wheelchair Skills – Doors Manual and Power
- In a manual wheelchair, Liam shows how to open a door, wheeling with one hand and pushing or pulling the door open with his other hand.
- Thea shows that it is ok to ask for help, especially if the doors are heavy.
- Using their powered wheelchairs, Ruby and Grace demonstrate how they open a door.
- Maddie and Ruby demonstrate their independence by asking for help with a heavy door or when exiting a lift.
- Maddie shows the benefits of using an automatic opening door.
