Kids Manual Wheelchairs
If your kid uses a manual wheelchair, you must make sure that it is perfectly comfortable. Furthermore, it has to be fit for purpose. Hence, you have to think about the height and width of the wheelchair, as well as about the footrest. Although you have the option of buying a ready-made wheelchair, it may be better to purchase a bespoke, made to measure kids manual wheelchair instead.
It is possible to get hold of a good manual wheelchair through the NHS. In fact, if you use a wheelchair to get around, it is likely that you have used one of these in the past. In fact, a lot of Disabled People would say that if you are needing your very first wheelchair, it may be best to go for the NHS model for a short period to begin to know how to use a chair and what you would like from a chair. At the very least, this will teach you how a kids manual wheelchair feels and operates, so that you will be better equipped to design your own bespoke model at a later stage.
Panthera Bambino
However, when you deal directly with manufacturers or with other people in the private sector, you may find that they are wheelchair users themselves. Hence, the advice you receive may be far better than you would get from an NHS nurse, no matter how well intended. This is because they have real experience with a children’s manual wheelchair. At the end of the day, it is down to your own preferences and your financial situation as well. The NHS will not always cover you for a bespoke wheelchair although you should be eligible for a voucher towards the costs of your preferred chair and even if you have private health insurance, you may struggle. However, there are also various disability charities that may be able to help you with financing, which is another option to look into.
When you decide to choose a bespoke wheelchair, do make sure that you create it exactly the way you want it to be. After all, it will last you for many years.
The question then is, where are you going to get all of these elements in a wheelchair as it almost certainly wont be in one from your NHS wheelchair service, although you may be able to apply for a voucher towards a personalized, bespoke or tailor made wheelchair – this unfortunatley is often a postcode lottery.
The answer is that you need to go to a wheelchair manufacturer that specialises in designing and creating manual childrens wheelchairs around the individual.
As a parent or carer, knowing that your child feels proud and independent of mind in their wheelchair will make you mirror these emotions. Being able to see your child simply enjoying their everyday lives because they have freedom of movement in a chair that helps their self confidence, is surely enough to make the decision to invest in a tailor made wheelchair, created around their needs and wants worthwhile
