During the early stages of a child's life, much of their learning and cognitive development comes from exploring their surroundings. For children with mobility issues like cerebral palsy and spinal bifida this can be difficult. In cases where the child lacks the ability to crawl or walk around they aren't able to explore their world until the age of 3, when they are able to operate a power wheel chair, and often miss out on much of the rapid development that takes place during infancy. University of Delaware researchers are working to remedy this problem, by developing tiny powered chairs that can be operated by a child through the use of a joystick as early as 6 months. Physical Therapy Professor Cole Galloway and Mechanical Engineer Sunil Agrawal have teamed up with Permobil, a national producer of power chairs, to outfit powered chairs for toddlers. Galloway will be showcasing his research next week in Las Vegas at the American Physical Therapy Association's Combined Sections Meeting. There to help Galloway showcase the research will be, Andrew, a 17-month old boy, who has been using the chair for over a year. Galloway hopes to show that providing mobility to an infant who wouldn't necessarily have it, could impact a youngsters life in numerous ways considering the rapid pace of development that occurs early on in life. "Babies literally build their own brains through their exploration and learning in the complex world," he says. "Their actions, feelings and thinking all shape their own brain's development." "Mobility is linked to widespread advances in cognitive development and learning abilities in typically developing infants." The University of Delaware has filed for patents concerning the development of the chair and hopes to develop a powered chair geared towards children between the ages of 6-months and 2 years. For more information on developmental disabilities go to www.childrc.com
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