4 yo and power wheelchair @WDW?

[rjthkids]

So my youngest daughter is 3.5 years old with multiple medical issues including Cerebral Palsy. She is being trialed in a power wheelchair right now and her PTs think this is a really great thing for her. She still also has her manual wheelchair.

We will have a trip upcoming to Disney, and it has made me wonder.....has anyone else had a very young power wheelchair user bring their power wheelchair to Disney, or is this a really horrible idea to use there and we should stick to her manual chair whether she likes it or not?

It makes me nervous with how unpredictable the crowds are....other adults and kids aren't always predictable in how/where they go and she is still very little and doesn't always pay attention herself. I also think she will be decidedly displeased to lose any kind of independent mobility for two straight weeks as well, which is my only hesitation. Still, I am strongly leaning towards the fact that it would be too dangerous. Thoughts? Anyone BTDT with a young child and can offer tips?

 

[redberyl]

Too young, especially sine it's so new to her. Let her get used to using it around the house, then take it to a grocery store or similar, then a moderately crowded zoo or similar, then when she's older and a more experienced driver, you can give Disneya try with the power chair. To do it now would be unsafe for her and others, plus it could really shake her confidence in her ability to use it

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

I hate to ask but why can't the adults push her in the manual chair

 

[aaarcher86]

With her age and inexperience I'd feel really uncomfortable with her being in the power chair. I'd stick with the WC for Disney. Even if she's great at controlling it, adults have a hard time in the crowds and difficult surroundings.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

One if the tricks to driving an ECV or power wheelchair in a crowd is being able to anticipate (as best you can) what other around you are going to do, and adjust accordingly. It takes time to learn how to do that quickly and safely. I don't think that in a few months a child that young will be ready for even moderate crowds at WDW. Especially with all the visual stimulation that can be distracting.

 

[rjthkids]

Yeah, I wanted to double check that I wasn't missing anything, but I just couldn't envision how this could be safe. She has been making good progress but she is still very little and has so much safety learning to do.

To clarify for a PP, the alternative is an adult pushing her manual chair. She doesn't have enough strength to push it herself. But she is a smart cookie and even though she has only had the power chair a very short time, she now pitches a fit about going in the manual chair. She gets really angry. Like any 3 year old she likes thinking she is the boss of her own universe and while her skills are still rudimentary, she has very rapidly figured out the power chair is more in her control and not mine. So I foresee some tantruming about that loss of "power"--- pun intended.

Thanks for confirming it's a bad idea

 

[50surgeries2012]

If you have an attendant control on the back of the power chair. You could be in control of helping her control the wheelchair in big crowded places, and then let her be independent in the less crowded areas. I've seen young kids who were using a power chair at Disney World on some of my trips there. Most of the time the parents let the kids operate the chair. But, I have seen parents help their kids operate it either from an attendant control on the back. Or, just simply by the joystick controller on the front.

I'm a power chair user myself, and although I am an adult. It's pretty tricky trying to navigate through the crowds when trying to keep up with the rest of my party that I was traveling with. I've driven power chairs in Disney World before. It's not easy that's for sure. Especially trying to get out of the parks after one of the big shows like Illuminations. A lot of times when the people with me in my party got ahead of me. They'd have to stop, and wait for me over on the side. Because I had to drive slowly as to avoid running into anyone. I have had people step in front of me in thinking I wasn't there, and I've had to react quickly to take my hand off of the controller.

 

[mamabunny]

Yeah, I wanted to double check that I wasn't missing anything, but I just couldn't envision how this could be safe. She has been making good progress but she is still very little and has so much safety learning to do.

To clarify for a PP, the alternative is an adult pushing her manual chair. She doesn't have enough strength to push it herself. But she is a smart cookie and even though she has only had the power chair a very short time, she now pitches a fit about going in the manual chair. She gets really angry. Like any 3 year old she likes thinking she is the boss of her own universe and while her skills are still rudimentary, she has very rapidly figured out the power chair is more in her control and not mine. So I foresee some tantruming about that loss of "power"--- pun intended.

Thanks for confirming it's a bad idea

Could you decorate her manual chair to be a special Disney "Princess Chair"? Make it so special and pretty and sparkly that she *wants* to sit in it? Only decorate it for the trip, but start talking it up now so that she is really looking forward to it? Just a random thought...

 

[SueM in MN]

I agree with the others - not a good idea.

Also, not knowing how soon your trip is, it's very possible that you may not have the power wheelchair by then anyway. Even if the therapists think the child is a good candidate for a power wheelchair and write a very good justification, it may take many months before it actually gets approved and delivered to you. It took nearly 6 months from the therapist writing the justification to my daughter actually getting her last power wheelchair.
And, it was a replacement of a worn out chair, so we didn't even have those hurdles about whether she would be able to use it to get over.

Even though our daughter is a good and experienced power wheelchair driver (she has driven in stores at Christmas time), driving in big crowds makes her apprehensive. So, she is OK with giving up dependence for security and we have never brought her power wheelchair to WDW.

We've heard some horror stories about flying with a power wheelchair - that's been one our big deciding factors. If the chair breaks on the way down, you are pretty much stuck, especially with a child sized chair.

Fatigue is a big issue. As others mentioned, the driver needs to be alert and ready to react to whatever other guests do. One time, my daughter was driving along in the path when someone who was taking a picture backed up. He was kind of crouched down a bit and his butt ended up inches from her lap. She stopped and waited for the person to get out of her space.nothing happened, but it could have.

If you decide to take the chair, practice, practice, practice. For her, but also for you to take over. Driving a power wheelchair, especially using the attendant control, is not as easy as it looks,

 

[thumpie's mom]

My daughter also has CP and requires her chair at all times. We have found it is definitely safer for her at Disneyland or WDW with her manual chair. She has impaired reflexes and some depth perception issues which make her power chair a little dangerous at the parks. In addition, she loves to look around and not necessarily pay attention to where she is going. I don't mind pushing her (she also cannot push her own chair for very long) since it keeps her safe and removes the anxiety of her using her power chair. My guess is that once she is there and having fun, she will be fine in her manual chair!

 

[Goddesstree]

I'd worry about what to do when she gets tired during the day - 4 year olds still fall asleep in the parks! What do you do with a 4 year old asleep in her own little ECV?

 

[BabyFu18]

I agree with the previous poster who said maybe getting her excited about decorating her manual chair would be a good idea. I'm an adult and I'm apprehensive driving a power chair at Disney, it's so busy and everyone is looking at everything except for where they are going so people are stepping in front of you all the time, it can be a lot to handle when you've got to pay attention to the people around you instead of the sites around you (especially for a small child). My mom uses her power chair at Disney and she says she likes it for independence but she's so stressed that she's going to accidentally hit someone who runs out in front of her that she misses a lot because she's trying to be vigilant about to hitting someone who doesn't realize others around them.

 

[happymommy]

Just wondering, is there any way to bring both? That way you could play it by ear day by day.
Especially with battery life - not sure how that will come into play.
Maybe there is an evening or afternoon where she is just so tired that she needs to rest, and I am not sure (my sister and daughter only use manual, sister is CP total care and DD only uses one at Disney as can't walk a long distance) but I think power ones are harder to push? So manual would be best if she's really pooped out?
It may be a lot to bring the power one though - are you flying or driving? Flying even I just have issues with how airlines can bump things around!
Good luck!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

Just wondering, is there any way to bring both? That way you could play it by ear day by day.
Especially with battery life - not sure how that will come into play.
Maybe there is an evening or afternoon where she is just so tired that she needs to rest, and I am not sure (my sister and daughter only use manual, sister is CP total care and DD only uses one at Disney as can't walk a long distance) but I think power ones are harder to push? So manual would be best if she's really pooped out?
It may be a lot to bring the power one though - are you flying or driving? Flying even I just have issues with how airlines can bump things around!
Good luck!!!

You could bring both wheelchairs, but you may have to pay to ship the second (I've gotten conflicting info from our equipment people).
I still would not recommend having a 4 year old who is just learning driving around WDW parks. If you bring it, you could have her use the manual in the parks and the power wheelchair outside at the resort.

Battery life should not be an issue. My daughter's old power wheelchair got more than 10 miles per charge - I don't know how much more because we never ran out of power. But, 10 miles per charge is pretty typical. She is currently working on getting a new power chair and the company rep said it has a battery range of about 17 miles per charge.

You don't want to be pushing a power wheelchair very far. They are very, very heavy. My daughter's current one weighs about 250 pounds without her in it. Once you get them going when you are pushing, they roll fairly well, but it's tough to get started, they don't steer well and stopping is not easy (after all, you are trying to stop at least 300 pounds that wants to keep rolling once it starts). I have pushed my daughter's power wheelchair for a one hour dance class a couple of times when the settings had gotten messed up. It's quite a workout!

If you have received the wheelchair by the time of your trip and decide to bring it by air, there is some information in the disABILITIES FAQs thread about traveling with wheelchairs. That thread is near the top of this board.

 

[happymommy]

I figured power ones are much harder to push. My older sister (100% total care) I've taken care of and pushed in her manual one since I was a little girl with no issue, but I know her classmates and others she lived with had power ones, and they do look hard to deal with as far as pushing.

Glad to hear about battery life. I didn't know anything about that.

I just think if she's tired, pushing her is much better.

With as young as she is, honestly, I'd do the manual one. Does it recline nicely? At that age, both my kids took LONG naps in the reclining stroller. And as my DD got older, she still napped (and I had to rent one even much older, not knowing she had a major health issue and now uses a wheelchair at Disney).

 

[dismom57]

Just to say I agree with previous posts, my DS20 has both a power and manual chair with multiple physical and cognitive issues. While he is perfectly able to use the power chair at school and other familiar areas, I would never consider taking it to WDW. To busy and with unpredictable crowds, etc. Power chairs are very hard to push and have a lot of momentum on slopes, they are very difficult to steer quickly another WDW requirement.