OT collaboration with local high school results in custom rides for children with mobility challenges

By Kate Hunger

On a recent afternoon, 2-year-old Daniella patiently waited for adjustments to be made to her harness and other elements of her brand-new ride-on toy car. When all was ready, the cluster of students and adults who had been waiting for this moment encouraged her to press the red saucer-sized button on top of the car’s steering wheel. The car whizzed forward, and Daniella smiled.

With its electrical and mechanical modifications, the tiny car makes it possible for Daniella, who has cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus, to move independently. Her achievement was made possible by a collaboration between the Department of Occupational Therapy in the School of Health Professions at UT Health San Antonio and the innovation design program at TMI Episcopal, where the modifications were made in a state-of-the-art innovation and design lab.

Daniella was the first child to receive an adapted ride-on car through the project. With its butterfly and princess decals and other touches of whimsy and modifications made specifically for her, the car will “help her explore and look around and let her sit up,” said her mother, Michelle Zapata. “This is going to be something amazing for her.”

The collaboration came about after Justin Kutscherousky, Dean of Innovation and Design at TMI Episcopal, contacted Department of Occupational Therapy Associate Professor Ana Allegretti, PhD, OTR, ATP, to inquire about opportunities to collaborate. Five occupational therapy students joined the project after learning about it from Dr. Allegretti.

“I was interested in working with kids and adaptive equipment,” said OT student Tina Bittle.

Bittle and fellow OT students Cristina Martinez, Paige Beeney, Marissa Bingham and Kathryn Dean visited with TMI students earlier in the school year and made recommendations about the modifications Daniella’s car would need.

“As OTs, we are good at the positioning and they are good at making it happen. We were very impressed” with the TMI students’ work, said Martinez, who along with Bittle performed an initial fitting for Daniella in August and made recommendations for modifications.

The TMI students also learned about occupational therapy and how mobility challenges affect children’s development in a number of areas. Dr. Allegretti, whose research interests include assistive technology, has researched and published articles about the impact of modified ride-on toy cars on children with mobility impairment. She works with Go Baby Go!, a national community-based research and outreach project that provides modified ride-on cars to young children with mobility issues.

Providing a way for children with mobility impairments to increase their mobility leads to improvements in a number of developmental areas — including social skills and language development, Dr. Allegretti explained.

“Usually, kids with mobility impairments tend have a more passive interaction with others and with the environment,” Dr. Allegretti said. “When you engage them and give the ability to move independently, they can proactively interact with their environment.”

Samantha Flores and Gabrielle Carlson, students in the advanced innovation design class at TMI Episcopal, made the modifications to Daniella’s car. They added back and head support, fabricated both a fixed and functional vinyl door for the sides of the car, adhered Velcro to the seat to prevent Daniella from slipping, added guitar case locks to the harnesses to make them easier to switch out and affixed pool noodles to the tops of the doors to provide extra support.

“It isn’t just a project,” Carlson said. “It’s going to change a little girl’s life.”

Flores’ work on the project opened her mind to new career possibilities.

“It’s made me think if I did mechanical engineering, maybe I could work more closely with people and help them feel like I do with this — which is really good,” she said.

Kutscherousky made the electrical modification to the car, including the installation of a power switch. He said the project provided his students with valuable lessons that extended beyond the research they did on cerebral palsy and how to make the appropriate modifications for Daniella’s car.

“I wanted to make sure our students had an authentic learning experience,” he said. “They are learning about ergonomics, physics and soft skills.”

Daniella’s car was the first to be modified in the project. The day her family picked up her car, Dr. Allegretti dropped off a second car to the TMI workshop, where a new group of students will soon get started.