Children with limited mobility struggle with spatial awareness. They often have poorer maths skills too. However, with the right support – support that helps them to get moving and explore their environment under their own steam – these skills will grow. The trouble is that it is often hard to get a wheelchair before the child is five.
The Wizzybug Loan Scheme is run by the UK charity Designability, which started as a partnership between the Royal United Hospital and the University of Bath in the 1960s. The scheme provides 'Wizzybug' powered wheelchairs free of charge to families with disabled children aged two to five. It has helped over 1,400 disabled children across the UK to be independently mobile, often for the first time. In 2022, the company won ‘Best Accessible Organisation’ in the Scope Disability Awards for their Wizzybug Loan Scheme. They were also highly commended in The Charity Awards 2023.
Developing a separate identity
Lucy Norris, Partnerships and Engagement Officer at Designability, describes the potential for child development: ‘Moving independently unlocks a child’s sense of self. If they are constantly being carried, or in a buggy, they are part of the parents or their carers, whereas when they’re in their Wizzybug, they are their own little person.’
Isaac is a good example. He is three years old and has cerebral palsy, a result of his premature birth at 31 weeks. When he was two, he was given a Wizzybug. This is not your conventional wheelchair. It looks like a big toy, but it is a sophisticated piece of equipment that has hand controls so that children can navigate on their own.