{"id":57745,"date":"2015-11-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-physical-therapy-engineering-students-team-up-to-modify-toy-cars-for-children-with-disabilities\/"},"modified":"2015-11-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T00:00:00","slug":"uri-physical-therapy-engineering-students-team-up-to-modify-toy-cars-for-children-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2015\/11\/uri-physical-therapy-engineering-students-team-up-to-modify-toy-cars-for-children-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 physical therapy, engineering students team up to modify toy cars for children with disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tLil\u2019 Rhody Riders program helps children be more independent<\/b><\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I., Nov. 12, 2015 \u2013 Cerebral palsy limits children\u2019s ability to move freely, never mind zip around their neighborhood in a motorized toy ride-on car.<\/p>\n


\nThanks to physical therapy and biomedical engineering students at the 溏心vlog免费B站, local boys and girls with mobility challenges will soon be cruising in Range Rovers, Mario Go-Karts and Barbie jeeps.<\/p>\n


\nThe students are teaming up to modify toy cars for children with disabilities. The goal is to help the kids enjoy the same activities as their peers \u2013 and be more independent.<\/p>\n


\nIf all goes as planned, six children, ages 17 months to 6 years old, in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut will receive cars in the Lil\u2019 Rhody Riders program, possibly before the holiday season. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cThese kids just want to have fun, like any kid,\u201d says Sandra Maliangos, project co-founder. \u201cThey can do what their friends do if you give them the right tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few months ago, Maliangos and Coral Hines \u2013 doctoral students in physical therapy \u2013 heard about Go Baby Go, a program at the University of Delaware that alters cars for children.<\/p>\n


\nThey decided to launch a similar program in Rhode Island for their department\u2019s leadership project. Two hurdles: They needed money to buy the cars, and engineering expertise.<\/p>\n


\nThe two launched a crowdfunding site<\/a> and quickly raised $1,200, enough to buy cars for children who have mobility impairments from conditions like cerebral palsy, fibrosarcoma and chromosomal abnormalities. \u201cWe were ecstatic,\u201d says Maliangos. \u201cPeople were so supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nNext, the students reached out to 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s biomedical engineering department to find out if anyone would be interested in whipping the cars into shape. The response: You bet.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe realized we were a little bit over our heads,\u201d says Maliangos of Warwick. \u201cWe also thought it would be a good idea to work with another department. The more hands the better.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nKatie Brown of North Kingstown, Zach Campo of South Kingstown and Cara Nunez of East Greenwich \u2013 all seniors majoring in biomedical engineering \u2013 signed up for their capstone engineering design project. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cThis project is a wonderful marriage of two 溏心vlog免费B站 departments,\u201d says Ying Sun, of West Warwick, professor of biomedical engineering and the engineering students\u2019 supervisor. \u201cIt shows how engineering technology can benefit the community \u2013 and children with disabilities. We\u2019re very proud that our students, at the beginning of their careers, are working on such a meaningful program.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe cars are being tailored to meet individual children\u2019s needs. Through simple rewiring, a red button on a steering wheel might replace a gas pedal. A joystick could work as a steering wheel. Fasteners and railings on a seat will keep a child\u2019s head upright. And some cars might have bars in back that parents can grab if their children take off.<\/p>\n


\nStudents are also installing ultrasound sensors under the control of a microprocessor that would automatically shut off the car if it gets too close to a wall, tree or other object. \u201cSafety is a priority for us \u2013 and the sensors do the trick,\u201d says Campo. Also, the team is working on a way for parents to control the car remotely, in case it needs to be stopped immediately.<\/p>\n


\n \u201cIt\u2019s especially gratifying to know that the work we\u2019re doing is directly helping these children,\u201d says Nunez. \u201cI like seeing other people benefit from my work \u2013 and be happy. It\u2019s part of the reason I\u2019m a biomedical engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nBrown says the project is challenging and immensely rewarding. \u201cEach car is unique. We can\u2019t make just one car for everybody. Doing a project that I know will help children \u2013 and make their day \u2013 is very fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHines, of Jamestown, says the cars can boost the children\u2019s self-esteem: \u201cWhen you’re a toddler feeling like you\u2019re in control is important. These cars empower them with confidence \u2013 where they go, who they play with.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nParents found out about Lil\u2019 Rhody Riders through word of mouth and the program\u2019s Facebook page.<\/a><\/p>\n


\nTara Dunne, of Enfield, Conn., expects the car to change her 2 1\/2-year-old daughter\u2019s life. Kate\u2019s cerebral palsy limits movements of her four limbs.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cRight now, she can\u2019t walk, sit or crawl,\u201d says Dunne. \u201cShe can scoot on her back. That\u2019s her only means of independent mobility.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPlaying inside with friends is manageable, but in the outdoors she often feels isolated. \u201cIf people are running around outside she can’t participate,\u201d says Dunne. \u201cIt will be really cool for her to get in on the fun, not having her mom pushing her around. She\u2019s very smart, she has a lot of personality and she likes participating with other kids. This will give her that chance.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nAnd Kate will probably have no problem behind the wheel. Dunne says her daughter knows that pressing buttons make things go. \u201cAnd that\u2019s just fun.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe students are still accepting donations to modify more cars. To contribute, contact the students through the program\u2019s Facebook page.<\/a><\/p>\n


\nBrown, Campo and Nunez hope to present a paper and poster about their work at the Senior Design Competition of the Northeast Bioengineering Conference at SUNY, Binghamton, in the spring. <\/p>\n


\nPictured above:

\n溏心vlog免费B站 students (from left to right) Sandra Maliangos, Coral Hines, Zach Campo, Cara Nunez and Katie Brown inspect a bar on a toy ride-on car they altered for children with disabilities.<\/p>\n


\n溏心vlog免费B站 students (from left to right) Sandra Maliangos, Cara Nunez, Katie Brown, Zach Campo and Coral Hines hold a toy ride-on car they modified for children with disabilities.<\/p>\n


\nPhotos by Joe Giblin.\n\t<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lil\u2019 Rhody Riders program helps children be more independent KINGSTON, R.I., Nov. 12, 2015 \u2013 Cerebral palsy limits children\u2019s ability to move freely, never mind zip around their neighborhood in a motorized toy ride-on car. Thanks to physical therapy and biomedical engineering students at the 溏心vlog免费B站, local boys and girls with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57748,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}