Malita’s Movement- Ability Drive (EyeGaze) Power Wheelchair

Two things we all take for granted are being able to move independently and talk when we want to. Unfortunately, Malita can only do one of these at the time (with supportive equipment/devices) due to her condition of quadriplegic cerebral palsy. There is however an answer, which is, an Ability Drive, powered wheelchair, which allows her to move independently and still have the ability to talk using her Eye Gaze. Unfortunately, this piece of equipment will cost around £20,000.

Ability Drive is a control system that enables the user to drive powered wheelchairs with their eyes, using eye gaze technology. Malita is already a proficient Eye Gaze user, and can use an Eye Gaze to communicate extremely well. We are fortunate that in this day and age there is technology available which will allow her to drive a powered wheelchair solely using her eyes. However, as she will be using her eyes to steer her wheelchair, Local authority/NHS/Wheelchair Services do not deem her eligible for a powered wheelchair. Therefore, we are having to raise the entire funds for this system ourselves. We will also be approaching charities to help with the cost, however, charities are very overstretched these days and it is unlikely charities will be able to fund the entirety of the cost.

Malita absolutely loves to chat and would have conversations all day long if she had the choice, however, she also likes to move around independently. Having this Ability Drive system would mean she can do both of her favourite things at the same time, actually haha she should be able to do three of her favourite things at the same time (eat!) In order to safely eat, Malita has to be in a really good seating position to avoid any asphyxiation or choking. In her Ability Drive powered chair, she can move, chat and eat which are her favourite things (excluding playing haha!)

Malita is bubbly 9 year old, with a brilliant sense of humour, a contagious personality and loved by all who meet her. Malita has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and is non-verbal. Due to her condition, Malita has very limited movement and dexterity in her arms and hands, due to this she is unable to use a joystick to drive a power chair. She also has very limited control of other areas of her body, for example; her head, her feet or her legs, meaning she cannot access other ways of controlling a power powered chair. She has shown that she is able to use her Eye Gaze to steer a wheelchair around very well and would be more than capable of using Ability Drive to steer her own powered wheelchair (see attached videos).

With an Ability Drive powered wheelchair, Malita will be able to be so much more independent than she ever has been before. Not only will she be able to steer her powered chair all by herself. She will also be able to communicate on the same device. Ultimately, this means that she can talk, chat and move around in environments at her own pace, at her own choosing to where she wants to go. It’s hard to explain how much this would mean for her as an individual. She is such a lively, curious and cognitively able child it must be so frustrating to always rely on others to move you around your environment. She is able to use a walker, however she cannot use her Eye Gaze when she is in her walker, hence at the beginning of this page stating that she has to choose at the moment between walking or talking. I could go on for ages about all the opportunities this power chair would open for her, that you would be reading this all day long ha ha!

A few of the things that come to mind which she would be able to do in an ability to drive power chair are:

- Get in and out of the house independently.

- Move around the garden independently

- Move around our downstairs independently

- Travel around her school independently

- Get in and out of the car independently

- Navigate around playgrounds/play areas, plus indoor play areas, again independently.

- Choose where she wants to be/what she wants to be getting involved in/who she wants to be sat with etc.

- Have far more social interactions with her peers and be able to get involved SO much more

We are aware this is a large amount of money however, anything you can give would be great, even if it’s just a share on social media to reach more people. Thank you so much.