Thinking Outside the Box to Achieve Transition Goals

I have a big announcement: I made a tray for my son’s wheelchair! That may not sound like much to you, but it is a big deal to me. Picture a sturdy plastic tray that sits at the front of the wheelchair. Importantly, it has sides to stop things from sliding off. The tray is easy to move on and off the chair. I know it seems like a small thing, but this carrying tray has led to some important changes.

My son, George, is about to graduate from school. We have been planning for this transition for years. But in this final year, transition planning has shifted into overdrive. Every week, the school helps him practice activities that he can continue after graduation.

Shopping, making deliveries and collecting recyclables are some activities he is working on. I have grappled with ways to make these potential jobs more interactive and meaningful for George. I want him to make the deliveries, not watch while someone else hands over the food or shopping. I want people to talk to George when he is picking up their recyclables, not his attendant.

In planning for his future, my north star has always been that George will do, not watch. With quadriplegia, he has very limited mobility. It is all too easy to park his wheelchair and let him sit and watch his peers do things. Or worse, let an attendant do the activity for him. He also does not speak, which makes it even more likely that he won’t be involved.

This is where the new wheelchair tray comes in and why I am excited about it. In the past, we would hang shopping bags off the back of George’s chair while he shopped or made deliveries. He couldn’t see what was in the bags. He relied on other people to fill and empty the bags. He was at risk of not being included in the interaction at all.

Now we put the shopping and deliveries out in front, on the tray. George can see what’s going on. People make eye contact with him and talk directly to him while he makes deliveries. The action is in front of George, not behind him. He is at the center of the interaction. He is doing the activity, not just watching. 

Making changes to medical equipment is not a typical thing for me to do. I am not a crafty person. But being a mom on a mission helped me get out of my comfort zone and think of a solution. The tray is not fancy or expensive. It is held together with Velcro. But this humble tray increases my son’s chance of achieving his post-graduation goals. And I’m proud of that. 

There is a wide range of assistive and adaptive technology and devices. They can be high-tech, like an iPad app. Or they can be low-tech, like a homemade wheelchair tray. Learn more on this website.