Learning Her Power

About a month or two ago (I can't even keep track of time!), Ariana had her first power wheelchair evaluation. We had all of our ducks in a row -- therapist letters, doctor prescription, IEP from school. Everything was ready to go, and I was anxious but hopeful that Ariana would surprise everyone and drive that power wheelchair like she was born doing it. Of course, that wasn't what happened. Ari got into the demo powerchair (which was way to big for her), and she drove it like someone would drive anything, never having had instruction or time to practice, who happens to be three years old, and has never actually had any experience in life moving through space independently. So, this looked something like Ari driving around, pressing the buttons to increase her speed, bumping into things (which she would try to move out of her way with her hand, rather than avoiding them), and forgetting to stop & turn at appropriate times. All of this, to me, seemed totally natural. However, in order for Ari to pass her evaluation, Ari needed to drive the powerchair safely, meaning not pose a risk to herself or to others around her. We arrive at the "catch 22" when Ari needs the powerchair in order to practice, but can't get a powerchair until she's a proficient driver.

Okay, fast foward to chapter two. I was referred to a Physical Therapist, named Gail, who specializes in powerchair training in children. Although she's quite experienced in this, she is new to Arizona, and Arizona has yet to have any programs like this for children available. Hence, she's what you'd call a pioneer in this area in AZ. As our luck would have it, she had an opening to train Ariana in what is basically a pilot group of toddlers, provided that Ari's state insurance would approve some hours of powerchair training. I had my doubts that we would get approved for a variety of reasons that I don't even need to get into now, because guess what? She was approved for twelve hours of training!

Which brings me to chapter three of our story. Gail and our great wheelchair rep, Josh, had their first day with Ari on Monday. After spending quite a bit of time setting up the chair to get it as close a fit to Ari as possible, Ari got to drive. And she loved that chair! She made progress, albeit small, even in her first hour in the chair. She can operate the joystick and make it go! I am so excited for her! She feels like such a diva in her new set of wheels! She has already been practicing with Daddy in the evenings when he gets home from work. And after noticing that even after all the jimmy rigging that Josh did to the powerchair, and it was still a little large, Josh came back the next day to exchange that big chair for one that is a perfect fit! It was the one we wanted all along, called the Koala by Permobil, which has come highly recommended by a very trusted source. What's even better is that Ari will get to keep this demo at our house until she's done with her training and, hopefully, is approved for her very own. I am so happy that Ari is well on her way to independence in mobility! This will open up so many doors for her. We couldn't have done it without our wonderful trainer, Gail, or our rep, Josh. We've only just met them, and they've already gone above and beyond for Ari.

{Josh setting up chair number 1}

{Ari waits patiently to try out her wheels}

{sidewalk chalk for the kiddies to pass the time}

{And she's off!}

{She's signing "potty" to tell me it's time to head back}

{Hurrying home to make it to the potty in time (which she did, btw)}

{chair number 2: Permobil Koala powerchair}