Power Mobility and Children

Clinical Rehabilitation published a review of the research on the evidence related to power mobility use in children (18 years or younger) with mobility limitations.  The search yielded 259 titles of which 29 articles met inclusion criteria, describing 28 primary research studies.  The following results were found:
1.  One study, rated as strong level II evidence, supported positive impact of power mobility on overall development as well as independent mobility.
2.  Another study, rated as moderate level III evidence, supported positive impact on self-initiated movement.
3.  The rest of the studies, rated evidence levels IV and V, provided support for a positive impact on a broad range of outcomes from to International Classification of Functioning (ICF) components of body structure and function, activity and participation.
4.  Some studies suggest that environmental factors may be influential in successful power mobility use and skill development.

The researchers concluded that most of the evidence supporting outcomes for children using power mobility is primarily descriptive rather than experimental. Further research is needed is the area of power mobility for children.

Reference: Livingstone, R. And Field, D. Systematic review of power mobility outcomes for infants, children and adolescents with mobility limitations. Clinical Rehabilitation. Published online before print April 24, 2014, doi: 10.1177/0269215514531262 Clin Rehabil October 2014 vol. 28 no. 10 954-964