When it comes to prescribing powered wheelchairs there are many factors that need to be considered, one of which is the environment. When there are several environments in the mix, all with very different demands on the user and the chair, finding the right powered wheelchair can be tricky.

Take Sam* for example; at the time of assessment he was a young adult diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, living with his family. 

Sam had been a powerchair user for a few years and was currently utilising a fixed frame rear-wheel-drive powerchair, prescribed purely for its compact footprint and ability to manage the home environment - narrow halls ways with 90 degree turns into a room.

What the current chair wasn’t coping with was the steep driveway and sloped kerb that Sam had to negotiate to access the road for his transport to work. Sam felt unsafe as if he was going to fall out of the chair, and the jolting when going down the kerb resulted in spasms that impacted on his ability to maintain a good postural position.

Multiple powerchairs were tried, those that coped well with the driveway and kerb had wheelbases that were either too wide or too long to maneuver inside the house. 

The Invacare TDX SP2 was Sams’ chair of choice due to;

-       A tight turning circle and compact mid-wheel drive base that successfully managed the home environment.

-       SureStep®Technology made transitioning down the driveway and kerb much safer for Sam. Upon descending, the castors extend and lower, allowing the seat to maintain a close-to-level position. The reduction in jolts also helped Sam maintain a better sitting position, minimising spasms which significantly lessened his need to reposition. 

-       No Rollback – if Sam needed to stop on the driveway for any reason, then there was minimal travel on the base when the joystick was released, again aiding his confidence with safety.

-       Seat Functions – Use of power seat functions such as ‘tilt in space’ allowed Sam to more effectively manage his pressure and comfort. This resulted in Sam being able to easily stay in the chair for longer, allowing him to achieve his goal of slightly increasing his work hours. ‘Seat elevate’ also gave Sam greater independence around his home and work environments.

-       Control System – Sam had some issues with fine motor control, but the LiNX touch screen technology gave him easy access to all the chairs functions.

If you would like to find out more about the features and benefits of the Invacare TDX SP2 then please visit

https://www.invacare.com.au or https://youtu.be/e5ETb2h8hPI

(*Name changed for confidentiality)

About Helen: Helen Widdowson has more than 20 years’ experience working as an Occupational Therapist, graduating from Oxford Brookes University in 1995. She has since worked predominantly within wheelchair and postural seating services in various roles across England, New Zealand and Australia.