Tips for learning a power wheelchair

July 8, 2022 11:07 AM

After the excellent responses and resources from this question I am hoping for further advice, tips, and tricks for learning how to use my new power wheelchair.

Anything you wish you'd known? Any advice for balancing varying opinions? For an extreme example, I've been told both that the hill guide is absolute, but also that the chair can go up and down any incline.

If it helps with answers, its an Amylior AllTrack M3 with midwheel drive.

I was able to practice once around the block with the vendor and OT, and seem to be ok with the basics, but of course don't know what I don't know!

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (2 answers total)

I have been using a power wheelchair since 2010.

I have never had any problems going uphill or downhill (altho you should switch to a lower speed setting when going uphill if you don't want to severely drain your battery)

but I have had two dangerous incidents with too-steep bus ramps - the sort of ramp that electronically extends from the bus when the driver deploys it.

In one incident, I was going down the ramp, it was too steep, and my powerchair started pitching forwards. If my partner hadn't grabbed my powerchair from behind, I would have landed headfirst onto concrete with 150 kilograms of powerchair on top of me.

In a seperate incident, I was going up the bus ramp, it was too steep, and my powerchair stared tipping backwards. If the complete stranger in the bus queue behind me hadn't jumped forward and grabbed my wheelchair, I would have fallen backwards one to two metres and smashed the back of my head into a concrete footpath.

So, beware bus ramps - if they look too steep to be safe, they may well be.

I often find I have to argue with the bus driver to get him to lower the ramp more - he will say "it's fine" - but its my safety at risk, and I know how to use a power wheelchair, and he doesn't.
posted by carriage pulled by cassowaries at 5:35 AM on July 9, 2022 [1 favorite]

This is a resource by the excellent and experienced wheelchair user jesse_the_k (who is on Metafilter sometimes)

Nuts & Bolts of Getting Your First Wheelchair in the USA
posted by carriage pulled by cassowaries at 9:54 PM on July 16, 2022