Modified toy cars give special-needs Iowa kids mobility

One-year-old Anna Allison drives a modified Fisher-Price Power Wheels car that looks like Mater, a character from the animated Disney film "Cars."

Anna, who has Down syndrome, started driving motorized toy cars when she was only 4 months old. Her Mater car has a large switch and extra safety features that allow her to explore and develop social and motor skills without endangering herself.

Anna's mother, Kristi, a physical therapist with the Heartland Area Education Agency, first learned about the project "Go Baby Go!" at a conference last year.

"I went home, watched the videos on how to make one and built her a car," Allison said.

Seventy physical therapists gathered in West Des Moines on Friday for the statewide Area Education Agencies' physical therapy conference to learn about the cars and even build their own. At the end of the conference, families were invited to try out the cars with their children.

The cars are modified to be used by children with physical or cognitive disabilities. Allison started with a motorized toy car that can be bought at Wal-Mart for $60. Then she rewired the motor to be used with a large round switch, rather than a small finger switch. Counting the purchase price of the car, the process cost about $200.

"The big switch is more accessible for her, so she's able to just hit the switch and go," Allison said.

Padded PVC pipes and straps hold Anna in the car safely.

"Go Baby Go!" was created by Cole Galloway at the University of Delaware in 2007 when he started using power mobility robots to help disabled children explore their surroundings.

"As a result of the research, a lot of people wanted these robots," said Sam Logan, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Delaware, who spoke at the conference Friday. "A lot of research shows that having access to early mobility has a range of developmental advantages."

Logan said he'd love to see medical insurance cover the modified cars, which aid skill development.

Powered wheelchairs often cost thousands of dollars and aren't available for young children, Logan said, so these cars help kids match the development of non-disabled kids earlier in life.

Ten modified cars were built at the conference by therapists, who will take them back to their own agencies throughout Iowa to use with patients. Logan called the initiative community-driven and self-sustaining.

Jackie and Ben Butzke of Urbandale brought their son Reuben and his car, which was given to him by his physical therapist last month.

"Since he's had it he's been a lot more interested in movement," Ben Butzke said. The car has also made 11-month-old Reuben more sociable. While driving his car, Reuben stopped and reached out his hand toward a girl driving by, Butzke said.

"He's a ham," Jackie Butzke said of her son, who has Down syndrome.

Reuben's parents said the biggest thing the car is doing is getting Reuben closer to crawling and walking.

The cars also give children the opportunity to keep up with their siblings and other members of their families.

"It just gives them the chance to do what kids do," said Lisa Smith, a physical therapist in Indianola.