On the road again! Tricycle adaptation with the design of a universal rig

ABSTRACT

Cerebral palsy is the most common childhood disability impacting motor function. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health defines outcomes that should be achieveable within the Activities and Participation domain. However, many children with cerebral palsy have significant difficulties in achieving activity goals within a typical recreational environment. Despite the well documented benefits of cycling for persons with cerebral palsy for example, it is often difficult to access commercially available adaptive tricycles due to prohibitive costs and varying needs. Even commercially available adaptive tricycles sometimes need to be customized. This paper outlines the design and implementation of a custom tricycle adaptation for a teenager with cerebral palsy, who was previously unable to complete a pedal rotation on any of the many adaptive tricycles she tried. The first phase of the project was the design and implementation of a “test rig” system that allowed different tricycle adaptations to be tested with the client, and could be used with any client. The second stage included two iterations of the design and implementation of adaptations to the tricycle. The final modifications enabled the client to ride independently. Challenges, successes, and recommendations for helping similar clients gain access to cycling are highlighted.

KEYWORDS:

• Activities of daily living
• recreation
• universal design

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Elizabeth Delarosa, Karen Forbes and Jan Sneep for advising us, Karen Forbes for bringing the project forward, and all of our other team members who helped along the way. Most importantly, we would like to thank the client and her family for their dedication to the project and patience while we learned.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by an NSERC Discovery Grant [RGPIN 2016-04669].