We weren't sure (which is why you got a mixture of rental vs check with his care providers). After this reply, I will move this thread to the disABILITIES COMMUNITY Board, which is more for general subjects, not related to travel.
You will definitely need input from his therapist and doctor since he has low tone issues. Something that might be OK for a short time may be too tiring for him to use for longer periods. This is just kind of an overview to give you somewhere to start discussing.
ECVIf the low tone in his upper body would make it hard for him to use a manual wheelchair, he may have difficulty with an ECV.
Basically, for an ECV, the person is sitting in a chair that is very similar to an office chair. So, first of all, he would need to be stable enough sitting in a chair like that to sit in it while it is moving. In order to drive the scooter, he would need to be able to reach forward to operate the controls on the tiller. Here's a picture of a typical mobility scooter:
For someone with low tone, it may be very difficult to hold the arms up like that and work against gravity. In addition, if he needs more supportive seating, that is not available in an ECV.
I have seen child sized ECVs, but when I searched, I could not find any. It's possible that they are not on the internet, but only in literature that Physical Therapists/Company Reps use when actually evaluating a child for one. Most of the adult ones start out to be used by someone up to 250 pounds; they do have some adjustability, but how much would vary from model to model.
Power wheelchair may be his best option. They are driven with one hand, using a joystick, so take very little hand motion or strength to drive. Since the joystick is attached to the armrest or close by, the driver doesn't have to work against gravity at all.
The companies that make power wheelchairs have both pediatric and adult models. Which he would fit would depend on his size and the company. Some can have seats as narrow as 14 inches for the adult sized chairs and for other companies, you need a child's wheelchair to get that narrow of a size. The more expensive power wheelchairs have custom sized seats, which are necessary for people with more positioning needs. There are also wheelchairs available with seats more similar to those found on ECVs for people with less need for positioning. Those would be less expensive. The other thing that makes a difference is the controller (which has the joystick that controls the computer that controls the wheelchair). Some people need only simple controls - the joystick has only one program and has a slide or knob where you can turn the speed from turtle (slow) to rabbit (fast). Other people have more complex needs and have a more complex controller; my DD's has 4 different programs that we use depending on her muscle tone and whether we are driving the wheelchair for her. There are about 8 parameters (like how fast it accelerates, how fast it comes to a stop, turning speed, speed when going backwards, etc.) that can be set individually for each program. That kind of programmer is much more expensive than the simpler ones, but luckily, some people don't need one that complex and adjustable.
The most common power wheelchair companies in the US are:
Invacare
Sunrise Medical
and Pride Mobility, which has 2 separate brands.
One brand is called Jazzy, which usually have seats similar to ECV seats, but some models have other options. Their Quantum Rehab models have more seat options and also have more options for how the chair is controlled.
One of the drawbacks to most power wheelchairs is that they are made for people who will be using them while traveling, so most don't come apart in any way. There is one I am aware of that can be taken apart and folded. I saw it at a Disabilities Expo and it was really cool. It is
called the A200 and is made by a European company called Otto Bock. It is considered a 'light duty' power wheelchair for someone like your son who would not be using it full time and/or doesn't need a lot of positioning.
Jazzy (see link above) has 1 model that can be taken apart for transport, the Z chair.
Manual wheelchairs with power assist are something you may not be aware of. If he is capable of making the motion to propel a manual wheelchair, but doesn't have the strength or endurance to move the wheelchair very far, a manual wheelchair with power assist may be an option for him. These wheelchairs have the advantage of being able to be easily transported, but the power axles on the wheels can do up to 80% of the work of propelling the wheelchair.
Here's one called the Quickie Xtender
and another is called
E-motion.
They are not in-expensive (when you put the price of the special motorized wheels together with the price of the wheelchair to put them on, the price may not be that different than a power wheelchair.
