No kid wants to be left behind. For kids with physical impairments, this makes competing to stay on top of the playground antics that little bit harder.
Dr. James Galloway of the University of Delaware has started project Go Baby Go, to ensure children with disabilities that affect their mobility don’t feel left behind. The professor was working on closing “an exploration gap” – the difference between typically developing children and those who suffer from mobility issues due to conditions like cerebral palsy and Down syndrome – when he came up with the idea of motorised toy cars.
Teaming up with a colleague, Galloway was inspired by a trip to a toy shop where he saw motorised cars and jeeps and saw the opportunity to adopt this in therapy practice with the children in his studies.
Unlike electric wheelchairs, which are usually reserved for kids above the age of three, Galloway customises toys that can be used by toddlers to get around the home or when playing with friends.
The Baby Mobility Lab currently houses an entire fleet of customized vehicles for kids with motor and developmental delays.
Go Baby Go has evolved from a custom made robotic device to motorised cars, with an advanced DARE prototype planned for 2020.
Video via Nation Swell
