Adaptive strollers can make a big difference: Here’s how

For many families with kids with disabilities, adaptive strollers are a convenient option for travel and daily use

Adaptive strollers come in all shapes and sizes—from light-weight to heavy-duty. From sporty jogger models to sturdy all-terrain buggies. Some have extra storage, while others have more postural support for a child who can’t sit up comfortably or safely on their own.

Shane Trenholm, a pediatric seating and mobility consultant at Motion’s Victoria location, says finding the right stroller is a combination of ensuring it has the right features for a child’s needs as well as the right design for the family’s lifestyle and how they’ll use the stroller.

Strollers are often an alternative to getting a manual wheelchair. “Sometimes the manual wheelchair is heavier, and it’s a little more cumbersome for parents to throw in and out of their vehicle,” says Shane. “They like the idea of a stroller just being a little bit easier to collapse, a little bit easier to get in another vehicle, especially if they’re doing that a lot over the course of their day. If they’re having to unload that equipment five or six times every day, they can get a stroller that’s a little lighter, easier to fold. That makes a big difference for everybody.”

For parents Aceneth and John, commuting to and from medical appointments is a big part of their weekly routine. Their daughter Gabriella has Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a genetic disorder that can affect many systems in the body. She also has heart and lung complications, a global developmental delay, and autism.

Gabriella is a happy child who loves anything to do with music. She watches music videos on YouTube, dancing along in her chair. Her favourites include Ms. Rachel, Cocomelon, and Raffi. She likes playing drums and maracas. She also needs constant care and frequent hospital stays, meaning travel from the family’s home in Langford to Victoria or Vancouver.

Getting to and from specialist appointments, music lessons, and outings with friends can be a challenge, especially since Gabriella needs her feeding bag, aspirator and extra supplies with her at all times. This equipment is heavy and awkward, but her current wheelchair doesn’t have space to store it. The wheelchair is also primarily designed for indoor or street travel, limiting where Gabriella can go.

Having exhausted other funding, John and Aceneth applied to Variety for an adapted stroller to make travel easier. They worked with Shane at Motion to find the right stroller. Usually, families try different models in consultation with their child’s therapist. Shane says families might also test out a stroller at home for a week to see if it suits their needs. It’s a collaborative process to find the best fit.

“We have to adapt and size and adjust everything,” he says. “We take measurements and we try to get everything set up reasonably close to what we need. But when we actually do the delivery, there’s a lot of adjusting and a lot of fine-tuning.”

Aceneth and John are determined to help Gabriella live a full life, including physiotherapy to help with her mobility and speech-language therapy to increase the ways she’s able to communicate.

The new stroller is an additional relief, making it easier for Gabriella to travel and get outside. It has plenty of storage space for her medical equipment, a canopy to shield her from sun or rain, and all-terrain wheels. Now, Gabriella can explore more of her world, including visiting her grandparent’s farm.

“Basically we can just give her the best quality of life we can, living day by day, make her happy as much as we can,” Aceneth says. “She’s a miracle because for her age—six years old. They told us she’s going to probably live only until two years old.”

Gabby smiles as her mom pushes her in her new stroller.