Parents and physical therapists' perceptions of the change in children's interests after receiving a powered mobility device from Wichita State University's GoBabyGo program

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Mobility is essential not only to the physical development of infants and children, but to their psychosocial skills, play skills, cognition, and global development as well. Alternative forms of mobility can help the development of children who are immobile. GoBabyGo (GBG) modifies ride-on toy cars for children, and Wichita State University (WSU) has participated since 2016. A gap exists in current research collecting follow-up data with parents and physical therapists of children who have received modified ride-on cars from WSU's GBG program and the GBG program at-large. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the parent and physical therapists' perceptions of the change in interests of children who have received a powered mobility device from WSU's GBG program. METHODS: Participants included any parent or physical therapist of a child who received a modified ride-on car from WSU's GBG program since the program's start in 2016. Data were gathered through an online questionnaire sent to participants by email. The questionnaire included a Likert Scale to assess changes in the child's interests and open-ended questions for participants to provide examples of the impact of the powered mobility device. RESULTS: Of the 99 questionnaires sent out, responses were received for 27 children. Of those responses, 8 were from parents and 19 were from physical therapists. Eighty-nine percent of parents and physical therapists perceived a change in the child's interests. Eleven percent, however, perceived either no change due to the powered mobility device or no change at all. Individually, 37% of parents perceived that their child's interests changed a lot because of the car, and 48% of physical therapists responses indicated the child's interests changed somewhat. The Likert Scale used did not specify whether the changes perceived were positive or negative. Some examples provided by participants, though, included that the child's interests had not changed because the child did not use the car, the child's interests had changed because the child was more motivated to move and explore, and that the child enjoyed playing in the car but the car itself had not changed the child's interests. CONCLUSION: Overall, most parents and physical therapists perceived a change in the child's interests due to the introduction of a modified ride-on car from WSU's GBG program. Parents perceived a greater change in the child's interests compared to physical therapists.