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Power Wheelchairs can open up a world of possibilities for anyone who experiences difficulty with mobilising and seated positioning. However, the effectiveness of the powerchair to achieve your goals is dependent on your choices.

Your unique solution will be influenced by:

• Clinical Factors – Your therapist will Identify your needs, both non-negotiable (such as pressure relief, postural control, and drive access) and what can be compromised (additional features such as standing function, multiple transport options, or all-terrain access).

• Lifestyle Factors – What does every day look like and where do you need to go?

• Personal Choice – what is a “need to have” Vs “nice to have”?

1. The Seating: With your therapist, decide what level of seating support is required to meet your postural and pressure needs.

2. Power Seating Functions: The options are tilt, recline, seat elevate, foot elevate, and standing, with combinations selected based on your therapists’ assessment of your needs.

3. Access: Be clear about how you are going to control the chair as this influences your choice of power base.

4. The Power Base and Drive wheel position: All power wheelchair bases have their pros and cons, and you will also need to consider the motor capabilities of each model to make the best choice. It comes down to, “What do you need the chair to do? What goals are you trying to achieve?”. Remembering that a compromise is likely to be needed, so understanding what is most important to you should remain front of mind. The options include Rear Wheel Drive, Front Wheel Drive, Mid Wheel Drive and All Terrain.

5. Suspension: How the suspension of the chair is achieved on the base, and how it interacts with your choice of seating, is different for every chair. Check the ride quality over the surfaces you are going to be accessing. The choice of tyre will also determine how the chair handles and where it can go.

6. Set Up: Now that you’ve made all the choices on the script for a powerchair and seating it should all just come together, right? In fact, this is where the skills of an experienced therapist and your AT specialist really come to the fore.

View our comprehensive range of Power Wheelchairs here

If you are looking for any support in this area or keen to know more, reach out to us at clients@astris-pme.com.au or 1300 131 884.