Driving Your Power Wheelchair
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Upon delivery of your custom power wheelchair, an assistive technology professional (ATP) from your durable medical equipment (DME) company will come to your home to adjust the chair and teach you the basic controls for operating and driving your chair. Like learning to drive a car, it may feel overwhelming and unnatural at first. With practice, you will become more confident and skilled at maneuvering your power wheelchair.
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Practicing at Home
It is a good idea to begin practicing in a safe, controlled setting. There are multiple adjustments you can make, including turning down the torque and speed settings.
If you are unable to figure out how certain things work, try reading the manual for your specific wheelchair model. Nowadays, manuals and training videos can usually be found online.
If you are unable to figure out how certain things work, try reading the manual for your specific wheelchair model. Nowadays, manuals and training videos can usually be found online.
Venturing Out
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Your custom power wheelchair is designed to take you outside of your home to experience beautiful weather, run errands, visit friends, and go to restaurants, movies, and ball games. Once you feel more comfortable driving your chair, you can practice going up ramps, over small, sloped curbs, into more crowded spaces, and over varied terrain like light gravel and dry grass.
Talk with your ATP about what your chair can safely handle and what terrain and weather conditions you should avoid. Always follow their recommendations. |
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