Innovative PARAVAN wheelchair child care

• Lightweight multifunctional power wheelchairs with standing, lying, sitting and tilting functions fill a gap in the children’s range of PARAVAN PR power wheelchair series
• Agile, compact, colorful and versatile, designed for the needs of the smallest customers
• A seat concept that grows with the user makes the wheelchair the perfect companion up to teenage age

Being dependent on a wheelchair is not necessarily a good feeling – especially not as a child – who wants to keep up with their peers or simply wants to be able to reach their toys or a school book on the shelf in a self-determined way. This motivated the Swabian tinkerers to find a solution individually tailored to this age group, with which the little ones are in the middle of things and not just there, thanks to the adaptable PARAVAN power wheelchairs.

The PARAVAN wheelchair models PR 25, PR 35, as well as PR 35 S make the path to optimal pediatric care much easier and more flexible when it comes to the needs of children and adolescents. These are very special chairs: small, compact, colorful and versatile. Developed for the needs of young customers and individually tailored to their environment. With functions such as lying, standing or tilting, the power wheelchair portfolio is equipped like the big brothers of the PARAVAN wheelchair family.

The up to 30 percent smaller chassis of the PR 35 series also makes the wheelchairs extremely agile. The children’s models are equipped with extremely quiet actuators and a seat concept that grows with the user (K110/K120). Various additional electrical functions, such as lift, seat tilt, stand-up and recline functions, allow them to be optimally adapted to the children’s living environment, whether at daycare, school or at home. Special construction is also possible with a view to the different handicaps, with a load capacity of 55 to 80 kilograms and a seat depth of 26 to 38 or a seat width of 16 to 43 centimeters.

"Inquiries from the pediatric care sector have increased in recent years," says Stefan Ludwig, head of wheelchair systems at PARAVAN GmbH. "This has motivated us to develop wheelchairs specifically tailored to the needs of this age group and to train our consultants very specifically in this area." Agility and suitability for everyday use were extremely important to the Swabian tinkerers, who developed and tested the models in collaboration with various social pediatric centers – in addition to the therapeutic benefits. This means that children’s fittings can be covered that would otherwise be difficult to implement in an optimal way.

Initial experiences and feedback from the market are very positive. With Matthias Enneper and Simon Derrer, two trained rehab child advisors are part of the PARAVAN wheelchair team. "Optimal assistive technology should always serve as a means of self-help. With the question of social participation, it is primarily about maintaining self-reliance and independence in the sense of living inclusion," says Simon Derrer. The "independent change of position" by sitting, tilting, lying, standing or driving, for example, enables users to relieve their back from a static sitting posture, as well as the lower back. It can provide for activation of the cardiovascular or lymphatic system, bladder and bowel function, digestion, or serve to stretch muscles, as well as assist in contracture prophylaxis or spasm reduction. "Therapy goals with a view to the child’s individual impairment can thus be achieved more easily and quickly in the overall interdisciplinary concept," the rehab child expert knows.

The color selection also leaves no child’s wishes unfulfilled: from fairy purple to strawberry red, Smurf blue to dino green, everything is possible. And if Princess Lillifee is ever out, the chassis cover can also be changed – depending on what’s trendy at the time. "It’s important that the child says this is my wheelchair," says rehab child consultant Matthias Enneper. That’s because it’s hard for a child to keep up with his or her peers in a traditional wheelchair. "Participation also means taking part at eye level!"

PARAVAN children’s wheelchair models are reliable companions from infancy to adolescence. Further information and contact persons on the Internet at PARAVAN-childrens’s wheelchairs.