Engineering students customize motorized cars for children with special needs .
Go Baby Go !
Engineering students customize motorized cars for children with special needs .
The modified ride-on cars are loan to their new drivers to use at school and home until they outgrow them and pass them on to other students .
Remember your first time behind a steering wheel ? Twelve young Frisco ISD students with physical disabilities were presented with their very own customized vehicles this spring – some VW buses , Jeeps , a sheriff ’ s car and even a Corvette !
The motorized ride-on cars were modified by high school engineering students at the FISD Career and Technical Education Center to meet the unique needs of students and allow them to move independently .
The project was inspired by the University of Delaware ’ s GoBabyGo program , which assists children who would otherwise be dependent on teachers , parents or siblings to move them around .
Physical Therapist Jennifer Cox and Active Learning Classroom ( ALC ) teacher Lindsay Brittain first brought the concept to Frisco ISD , modifying a car for a student at the FISD Early Childhood School . The two were rewarded by seeing the student ’ s overwhelming joy at being able to move on his own for the first time in his life , as he was able to lead a parade through the hallways of the school .
With the hopes of making more cars available to students , Cox and Brittain applied for a grant through the Frisco Education Foundation ’ s Grants for Great Ideas program . Foundation Board members not only fulfilled their grant request , but raised additional funds from the Frisco Sunrise Rotary Club to expand the effort even further .
Engineering teachers Ken Strong and Travis Volk and their students at the CTE Center were then enlisted to modify the cars . Students not only engineered the necessary changes for each student , but also added features of their own , such as harnesses , seat belts , seat backs , safety rails and extra buttons to provide options for driving the cars . They used 3D printing to fashion the modifications .
In addition to giving students an independent role in their mobility , use of the modified cars may allow students to qualify for motorized wheelchairs at a younger age . The ability to explore the world also means quicker and greater cognitive gains for students who have intellectual delays as well as physical disabilities .
“ They can play and have fun . They ’ re learning cause and effect and how to steer and drive the cars , as well as experiencing increased social interaction ,” Brittain said .
District staff pose with a CTE engineering student and recipients of one of the modified cars .
“ Research also shows that once you have a role in your own mobility , you see that you can control it , that you have that desire . When students aren ’ t in the car , they want to roll more , crawl more and walk more , because they know they can get from point A to point B .”
The project also opened the eyes of the future engineers to how their talents can be used to help others .
Aqeel Ahmed is an engineer and the father of one of the students who received a new shiny black Jeep . He had already built his son a truck but he had outgrown it . He admitted that the engineering students thought of things he had missed .
“ I put him in a helmet , but I didn ’ t put in all the safety systems these students did . This one fits perfectly for him ,” the proud dad said .
Frisco Education Foundation Director Allison Miller says the GoBabyGo project is exactly the kind of great idea that the Foundation loves to support because it educates and improves the lives of students . •
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