Which wheelchair or stroller to choose for DS? Help please!

[triplefigs]

Hi. DS has an appointment with the Mobility Designs next Thursday to finally get his own wheelchair or special needs stroller (like a Macleran Major). We are currently renting a wheelchair from Home Health, and it looks like a standard adult chair and is MUCH too big and bulky for him. For any of you with children with either a wheelchair or stroller, could you please help me decide? DSis 49” tall but only 43 pounds. He is 7.5 years old, and we would use it primarily for outings, long distance, trips to Disney. He is doing better with daily endurance (i.e. school), but still cannot go longer distances (malls, walks, grocery store). I would like something that is easy to fold and put in the van, not bulky or super heavy, easy to push and maneuver.

Please respond with makes, models, pros and cons.

Thanks so much!

 

[SueM in MN]

Will he be propelling it himself at all?

If he's not going to be and you will be pushing it, you could go with a Maclaren Major special needs stroller.

I'd suggest you make sure that he has one he could propel himself if he wants to. That gives him more independence and makes him look more grown up than using what is basically a giant stroller.
It sounds like he probably doesn't have a lot of positioning needs if he is currently using an adult wheelchair. A lot of the cost of a wheelchair is in special seating - my DD's wheelchair back alone cost around $750 and her seat cushion was also that much. Besides cost, those things add weight and make it harder to propel a wheelchair and also to lift it into a car.

Sunrise Medical makes Zippie children's wheelchairs.They also make Quickie adult and children's wheelchair. Sunrise is one of the biggest wheelchair manufacturers in the US and my DD's manual chairs have all been from Sunrise. Some of their children's models go only to 14 inch seat depth, but some are deeper.

Invacare is the other big US company for wheelchairs. My DD has never had an Invacare manual wheelchair, but all her power wheelchairs have been Invacare. They do have pediatric manual wheelchairs too.

I don't know that much about other brands, but one of my favorite places to look at things online, adaptivemall, does have some pediatric wheelchairs from other companies.
Wheelchair.com also has some different pediatric wheelchairs.
A company called Colours makes really nice looking wheelchairs, but I have not seen any of them in real life.

Some other things I would suggest:

• - foam filled (or permanently filled tires). Those are great because you don't have to check them for air - ever - and they won't go flat. If you do opt for air filled tires, make sure the casters (those small wheels) are solid. We got talked into some that were air filled once and "a pain" doesn't even begin to cover it.
  - consider mag tires. These are the kind that have plastic molded tire spokes (not sure exactly what you call it, but the Quickie link above shows that kind). The mag wheels are lighter and also you don't have to do any maintenance on them. The kind with spokes (like on a bike) need to be checked periodically to make sure they have not loosened or gotten bent.
  - if you have a choice between swing away footrests and fixed, consider whether he needs them swung away to get in and out. They add weight and become another part that can get out of adjustment.
  - look at how the wheelchair folds - some fold side to side like an umbrella stroller. Some have a rigid frame and the top folds down into the bottom. That's how my DD's current manual wheelchair folds. It takes different space for each kind. The side to side takes a longer space to put it in, but you may be able to fold it and stand it upright in the back of a van. The back down folding kind may take more dis-assembly to fit.
  - don't let them order too big of a chair, but realize that it may take a while to jump thru all the hoops and get the chair. For one of my DD's manual wheelchairs, the person fitting it said she really would need a 16 inch wide wheelchair because she would grow out of a 14 inch wide one too soon. We listened and got the bigger one. It is still too big and that wheelchair is now about 4 yrs old and my DD is full grown in a 14 inch wide chair that actually fits her.

Picture of my DD's manual wheelchair folded. The wheels also have a quick release so they can be easily popped on and off.

Good luck and either post again or PM me if you want more help.

 

[LauraVV]

Our daughter uses a Convaid Cruiser. She is ten and got the chair at age five. It still fits well. Our daughter does walk very well. She has fatigue that does not allow her to walk community distances. When our daughter uses her chair she is unable to propel herself. It's very light weight and folds up easily.

 

[MarieS]

Does you son have a preference of wheelchair vs. stroller? Will he be pushed or self-propel? Self-propel will give him independence but can take time to build up to. While wheelchairs do tend to be heavier, there are ways to make them more lightweight and easy to fold. We were also concerned about having the boys in "strollers" after they were in first grade and wanted soemthing more age appropriate. I like the Quickie brand ( durable and has growth potential) and my boys have chairs similar to Sue's daughter. It is a Quickie Zippie. We have a lift van now, but prior to this we took out the seating system and took off the back wheels and folded it down to put in the trunk. For us, it was the seating system that added a lot of weight because my boys need lots of support. Before this, we used a MacLaren stroller. It looks like a big umbrella stroller. It is lightweight and easy to fold.

Sue made a good point about sizes. You need to allow for some growth, without being too big or he will be uncomfortable. We are in the process of getting bigger chairs for the boys and it is taking months! We started the process last summer and had several appointments with DME to determine seating sytems, etc. Now we are in the middle of the insurance approval.

Good luck!

 

[triplefigs]

Thanks, everyone for the help. I can't imagine him self-propelling the wheelchair at this point and most likely he would be pushed. He has EXTREME weakness in his arms and trunk from the CP. He is low-tone CP, and his main issue is fatigue and making it long distances. For ADL he doesn't need any assistive devices. But when we go to the mall, for a walk, Disney, etc, he cannot go for longer than 30 minutes without complete fatigue. He has to use so much energy to compensate for the low tone to walk, that he just wears out.

So would you still suggest a lightweight wheelchair over a special needs stroller? On average, we would probably use it once a week. Thanks so much!

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks, everyone for the help. I can't imagine him self-propelling the wheelchair at this point and most likely he would be pushed. He has EXTREME weakness in his arms and trunk from the CP. He is low-tone CP, and his main issue is fatigue and making it long distances. For ADL he doesn't need any assistive devices. But when we go to the mall, for a walk, Disney, etc, he cannot go for longer than 30 minutes without complete fatigue. He has to use so much energy to compensate for the low tone to walk, that he just wears out.

So would you still suggest a lightweight wheelchair over a special needs stroller? On average, we would probably use it once a week. Thanks so much!

I agree with Marie that you should ask him, but one thing that might not matter to your DS right now, but might in a year or 2 is what his peers might think when they see him out shopping. A 9 yr old in a special needs stroller is a lot different than a 9 yr old in a wheelchair. The wheelchair is more age appropriate.
He could also 'pimp out' the wheelchair with bicycle equipment - things like lights. He could add things that make it more personal - a lot of bike stuff attaches on tubing, spokes or the wheels.

I would also add that having a wheelchair give him the option of self propelling.
He might not be able to do it now, or he might not want to do it now, but the if the wheelchair is going to be part of his life for outings, at least he could do short distances if he wants.
My DD is not strong enough to propel her own manual wheelchair when we go out and she could not do it for school, which is why she also has a power wheelchair. If she has her manual wheelchair when we are out, we do most of the pushing, but she can do short distances if she wants to look around a store a bit by herself, etc. Even if we are doing most of the pushing, it still gives her the independence to move a little by herself.
She was not quite 3 when she got her first wheelchair (we knew that because of the amount of involvement with her CP, she would never be a functional ambulator). The equipment people were pushing for something like a Convaid Cruiser, but we felt it would be better for her independent streak to have a wheelchair. By the time she was 4, she was very good at manouvering it and using it for short distances.

 

[triplefigs]

Thanks everyone. We ended up getting the Convaid. It will take 4 months with our insurance. Should I just rent a Macleran SN stroller for Disney or a regular Disney stroller? I didn't see on any of the sites where you could rent a Pediatric wheelchair that folded easily.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks everyone. We ended up getting the Convaid. It will take 4 months with our insurance. Should I just rent a Macleran SN stroller for Disney or a regular Disney stroller? I didn't see on any of the sites where you could rent a Pediatric wheelchair that folded easily.

I noticed that one of the places you are staying on your trip is Beach club. From there it's quite a walk in to Epcot and Beach Club is the farther of the 2 resorts from the boat dock. So, depending on how far you think he can walk, that might be more than he can manage.
I'd suggest renting one off-site. There are a few places listed in the disABILITIES FAQs that rent special needs strollers.

If he has a school or clinic PT, you might also want to ask if there is a lending closet for equipment like that in your area.

 

[Mason7AK]

If you need something short term until your convaid arrives, and don't mind putting a little investment into it - you can find a very nice, lightweight foldable wheelchair available on ebay. It is made by Medline, is yellow and has a smiley face on the backrest. They are listed on ebay all the time! I got one for our son (5 yrs old, Spina Bifida) as a "travel" wheelchair. At home and for school he uses his Quickie. But for outings, doctor appts, and travel (like to Disney), we use the little Medline chair. It works great and is very lightweight. It runs $199 - $219 on ebay, depending on who you buy from, and I believe the shipping is free by some sellers. If you type "pediatric wheelchair" into the search box on ebay they will come up. They have 12" or 14" depths. We got the small one (12") - our DS is 34 pounds and 44" tall. It fits him fine, except his legs were a bit too short for the footrests, which are not adjustable. But they would probably work well for your 49 inch DS!
The only drawback is that if you are pushing him, the handlebars are a little low for an adult to push. I can do it easily, and I am 5'5", but my husband is a little too tall for him to push it comfortably (he is 5'10"). My DS pushes himself, so that isn't an issue for us, but wanted you to be aware. I will say that the chair is so lightweight that it would be one of the easiest chairs for your DS to push himself - at least for short distances.
Angela

 

[triplefigs]

Thanks for the tips! I think we will definitely look into renting one for the trip. I forgot about the long walk from the BC. No way he could make that. He's good for about 100 yards at a time max.