My child needs a new wheelchair. Where can I find reliable resources to educate myself on wheelchairs?

Getting a new wheelchair can be a confusing and daunting process. There are so many options to choose from, accessories to learn about, and concepts to consider. My first piece of advice is to find a pediatric physical therapist (PT), pediatric occupational therapist (OT), or assistive technology professional (ATP) with experience working with pediatric wheelchairs that can help guide you through this process. Finding the right wheelchair for your child is a team effort that you should not be navigating by yourself. If you have questions surrounding the process of getting a new wheelchair, feel free to reach out to me at jraheb@rahebpt.com. I can help answer your questions.

A great place to start is by educating yourself on wheelchairs in general. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misleading and inaccurate information online about wheelchairs. Below is a list of great ways you can educate yourself on your own time. It includes a list of reliable and trustworthy resources…

The RESNA Website

The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) has an extremely informative website. The RESNA website, https://www.resna.org/, has a wealth of information for both clinicians, family members, and wheelchair users. If you go to https://www.resna.org/Resources/Position-Papers-and-Service-Provision-Guidelines, you will find a list of evidence based articles on a variety of wheelchair topics.

Permobil Webinars

Whether you are looking for more information, or you’re just looking to do a little less reading these days, there are some excellent free webinars that you can find online. My favorite are the webinars provided by Permobil. If you go to https://hub.permobil.com/permobil-product-webinar-form-page, you can get access to their free webinars. When you provide your email address, they will email you links to future webinars and recordings to many of them if you cannot attend.

Manufacturer Websites

I always recommend to my patients and families that they take some time to click around different manufacturer websites. Talk to your physical or occupational therapist and ask them what type of wheelchair your child needs. Does he/she need a power wheelchair or manual wheelchair? Will they benefit from a power assist system? Ask them the common wheelchair brands of those types of chairs and go directly to those websites.

For example, when I’m recommending a manual wheelchair, I recommend that my families go to the Ki Mobility and Permobil websites, https://www.kimobility.com and https://www.permobil.com/en-us. I recommend that they look at the manual wheelchair options, look at different accessories, download brochures, etc. Your PT, OT, and ATP will be able to guide you on what is appropriate for your child and what insurance will help cover, but it is helpful to take a peak at what is out there on the market before having some of those conversations.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of working with your team of health care professionals to figure out the best options for your child. It is also important to trial different wheelchairs when possible to learn more about them as well. If you have more questions about getting a new wheelchair for your child, feel free to contact me at jraheb@rahebpt.com.

Is there another question you have about wheelchairs that you would love to see in a blog? Please let me know! jraheb@rahebpt.com

-Jenna Raheb, PT, DPT, PCS

Last updated January 3, 2022.

Raheb Physical Therapy

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