Powered Mobility Vehicles as Aids in Independent Locomotion for Young Children

Sensorimotor experiences are the cornerstone for cognitive and intellectual development.1–3 Human intelligence is acquired by children as they explore their environment.1,2 As they move about, children gain sensory information through their hands and mouth.1 Through movement, concepts such as distance and the size and form of objects are appreciated and integrated.1 The potential to move about and explore may be limited for the child with motor impairment, inhibiting social, psychological, and emotional development.1 In particular, the disabled child has difficulty forming concepts of spatial relations.1 Because children with poor ability to locomote depend on others for their movement, they often have difficulty developing psychological independence.1,3,4 Psychosocial and cognitive development of physically disabled children is facilitated if the children, at an early age, are supplied with mobility aids that allow them to move about independently without too much effort.1