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Wheelchairs

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Who Needs a Wheelchair?

Kids can need wheelchairs for many different reasons. Some have had injuries either to their legs or spine, which controls leg movement. Others have disabilities due to muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy. In some cases, kids have wheelchairs but don't need to use them all the time. For example, they might be able to walk with the aid of crutches or a walker sometimes.

What Does a Wheelchair Do?

Today's wheelchairs are light, fast, and easy to use. Many use computer technology and offer better support for a person's back, neck, head, and legs. They also include safety features such as automatic brakes and anti-tipping devices.

Power wheelchairs have many advantages for kids who need them. Electronic controllers can help a kid who uses a wheelchair drive smoothly, brake easily, and make the wheelchair move with the touch of a hand or even by puffing on a special straw! Some hand controllers look like a joystick used to play video games and are easy to operate.

What's Life Like?

Kids who use wheelchairs usually fall into two categories: kids who use them for a short time (for instance, kids who broke a leg or had surgery) and those who use them for a long time, or permanently. Even though kids who use a wheelchair for a short time may feel frustrated or sad about relying on others to get around, they know that someday the wheelchair won't be necessary.

For kids who depend on a wheelchair for the long term, life is different. They'll need to learn how to use the wheelchair in lots of different situations - at home, in school, while away on vacation. In some cases, it will be hard to use the wheelchair or it might take a long time. That can be frustrating, but wheelchairs are getting better all the time.

People who use wheelchairs can shop, work, go to school, play, drive cars - even compete in some special types of sports competitions. But they also must look for handicapped-accessible buildings, special ramps, parking places, and environments that are wheelchair-friendly.

Sometimes, a person who uses a wheelchair may be teased, feel left out, or get treated differently than other kids. So the next time you see a kid using a wheelchair, try to be a friend. Usually, kids in wheelchairs don't need to be pushed around, but they might need other kinds of help. Opening a door or clearing the path will be appreciated.

But the best help of all is to be kind and friendly and not to tease or stare. People who use wheelchairs are the same as everyone else. They just get around on wheels instead of feet!

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Wheelchairs are a way for some people to be independent, despite illnesses or injuries. Find out more in this article for kids.

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Hearing

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Hearing loss happens when there is a problem with the ear, nerves connected to the ear, or the part of the brain that controls hearing. Someone who has hearing loss may be able to hear some sounds or nothing at all. To learn more, read this article for kids.

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Have you ever put on a blindfold and pretended that you couldn't see? You probably bumped into things and got confused about which way you were going. But if you had to, you could get adjusted and learn to live without your sight.

Lots of people have done just that. They have found ways to learn, play, and work, even though they have trouble seeing or can't see at all.

How Seeing Happens

Your eyes and your brain work together to see. The eye is made up of many different parts, including the cornea, iris, lens, and retina. These parts all work together to focus on light and images. Your eyes then use special nerves to send what you see to your brain, so your brain can process and recognize what you're seeing. In eyes that work correctly, this process happens almost instantly.

When this doesn't work the way it should, a person may be visually impaired, or blind. The problem may affect one eye or both eyes.

When you think of being blind, you might imagine total darkness. But most people who are blind can still see a little light or shadows. They just can't see things clearly. People who have some sight, but still need a lot of help, are sometimes called "legally blind."

What Causes Blindness?

Vision problems can develop before a baby is born. Sometimes, parts of the eyes don't form the way they should. A kid's eyes might look fine, but the brain has trouble processing the information they send. The optic nerve sends pictures to the brain, so if the nerve doesn't form correctly, the baby's brain won't receive the messages needed for sight.

Blindness can be genetic (or inherited), which means that this problem gets passed down to a kid from parents through genes.

Blindness also can be caused by an accident, if something hurts the eye. That's why it's so important to protect your eyes when you play certain sports, such as hockey.

Some illnesses, such as diabetes, can damage a person's vision over time. Other eye diseases, such as cataracts (say: KAH-tuh-rakts), can cause vision problems or blindness, but they usually affect older people.

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What Does the Doctor Do?

A kid who has serious trouble with vision might see an ophthalmologist (say: af-thal-MAH-luh-jist), a doctor who specializes in eye problems. Even babies might see an ophthalmologist if their parents think they might be having trouble seeing.

At the doctor visit, the doctor will talk with the parents and the kid (if the kid is old enough to describe what's going on). A doctor might use an eye chart to find out how well the kid can see. You've probably seen these charts that contain letters of different sizes. It's a way of testing how well a person can see. Someone with really good vision would be able to read certain letters from 20 feet (6 meters) away.

Eyesight this good is called 20/20 vision, although some people can see even better than that. The numbers change depending on how clearly a person can see. The larger or closer something needs to be in order for it to be seen, the worse a person's vision is.

Many times, glasses or contact lenses are all that's needed to help kids see better. But if glasses and contact lenses can't make someone's vision any better - and the person needs to get really close to something to see it - he or she may be considered blind. For instance, someone with good vision might be able to see an object from 200 feet (61 meters) away, but someone is considered blind if he or she needs to be 20 feet (6 meters) away to see the same object.

Babies and little kids won't be able to use the eye chart, but doctors can check their vision by doing special vision tests or something as simple as putting a toy in front of the child to see if he or she can focus on it.

The ophthalmologist also will examine the kid's eyes using special medication and lighting that allows him or her to see into the eyeballs. The ophthalmologist will look at each part of the eye to check for problems, such as a cataract (cloudiness of the eye's lens). Once the doctor knows what's causing the vision problem, he or she can begin planning how to treat it.

In some cases, an operation can help improve a kid's vision. For example, if a kid has a cataract, doctors may do surgery to remove it.

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Is Learning Different?

A baby who is blind can still learn and develop normally. But the baby's parents will need the help of specialists who know how to help blind children. It's often a great idea for the child to attend special learning programs designed just for little kids who have trouble seeing. These programs would make the most of the senses that the kid does have, such as touch, hearing, smell, and taste.

Touch comes in handy when a child is older and wants to read books. Kids who are visually impaired can learn to read by using a special system called braille. Braille is a way of expressing letters, words, and thoughts. To read braille, a person feels a series of little bumps that are associated with letters in the alphabet. For instance, "A" is represented as one bump. Computer programs and other devices that can "see" turn the words on a page into braille.

Hearing is another important sense if a kid has vision problems. Some devices can read out loud what's written on a page. With special equipment, a visually impaired kid can read almost anything. These kinds of technologies can be helpful in learning. Kids who are blind might attend a special school, or they might attend regular classes, aided by special devices and specialists.

Hot Dog!

Kids who have vision problems will get help from their parents, doctors, and teachers. When they are older, some of them may get a hand - or should we say a paw? - from a guide dog. These helper dogs are trained to be a blind person's eyes. That means the dog learns to be very alert to surroundings so he or she can be a good guide for the person.

Not only are these dogs great friends, they give blind people independence, so they can accomplish what they want to accomplish.

Many blind people have gone on to do amazing things in many different fields, including music, the arts, and even sports. Serious vision problems didn't stop runner Marla Runyan. She was the first legally blind person to ever qualify for the Olympics!

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Have you ever put on a blindfold and pretended that you couldn't see? You probably bumped into things and got confused about which way you were going. But if you had to, you could get adjusted and learn to live without your sight. Lots of people have done just that.