Some kids with disabilities are getting more options to explore. A collaborative project between the University of Regina’s faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and Wascana Rehabilitation Centre's Children's Program has helped develop two modified ride-on cars.
The blue car features one button for stopping and going, while the orange car has three buttons, allowing kids to turn and go forward. Both have sonar sensors, to help avoid collisions and stairs, and a Bluetooth feature can be installed, so someone can control the car by using their phone.
“The car thing is kind of an amazing thing to see. Someone that you see with the difficulties they face, and they smile and play with us as we try to get them to drive a car, and they know everybody's watching,” said Glenn McIvor, Grandfather of Nickolia McIvor-MacDonald.
"The first time it brought tears to my eyes. So it's really exciting to see her thrive,” said Julie Buium, mother of daughter with cerebral palsy.
One of the patients testing out the vehicles is Nickolia McIvor-Macdonald, 4, who was born with Joubert Syndrome, a disorder that can cause low muscle tone and developmental delays. Nikolia has used the blue car at least 15 times now, and seems to be gaining some movement from it.
"It’s really helped for him to reach for stuff. This past Sunday we were seeing Santa, and Santa was waving bye, and you could see him bring his hand up and actually wave to Santa,” said McIvor, during an interview on Monday.
The goal is to prepare users for the possibility of a power wheelchair somewhere down the line.
"We’ll tell him to turn or to stop, pull his hand off, that type of thing. So that we want him to cognitively say 'look, I want to go, I don't want to go',” said McIvor.
"By giving these children the opportunity to control their movements, so to be in these cars, they get to do the social and emotional development as well that we would hope for them to do at this age,” said Kim Schaan, Occupational Therapist, Wascana Rehabilitation Centre.
The vehicle's get purchased from a toy store, and then students use donated spare parts to modify them, typically taking two months. The group is working on a dump truck for a third vehicle. Between student fees and the price of parts, each finished vehicle costs about $30,000 dollars. Officials say there is no funding so far.
"We really feel like we're making an impact, but the sad truth is that we're doing this on the side of our desk. We don't have any funding for this project,” said Raman Paranjape, Electronic Systems Engineering Professor, University of Regina.
With no funding for the project right now, everyone involved is currently doing it out of the good will of their heart. Going forward, Paranjape is looking for some funding, so he can hopefully build some more cars.
