2026 State of Inclusive Excellence
Movement is a fundamental human right. My community-engaged efforts and scholarship are centered on this rights-based approach to human movement. Physical activity is often discussed from an intensity perspective. That is, physical activity should be at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity to reap its health benefits. This is important, however, this perspective neglects to acknowledge that movement in many forms, including use of mobility technology such as motorized wheelchairs, is critical for participation in daily life. My work is focused on the design and implementation of motorized wheelchair interventions for young children who experience mobility disabilities who are often excluded from participation in play, activities of daily life, and broader society.
Research from the early 1980s indicates that children 3 years old and younger can learn how to use motorized wheelchairs. Further, these children experience developmental benefits from access to these devices such as increased cognitive, language, social-emotional, and motor skills. For decades, motorized wheelchairs were not available for young children and traditional adult-sized chairs were adapted with seating supports for young children to use. Further, current motorized wheelchairs for pediatric populations cost upwards of $30,000.
My work involves modifying off-the-shelf and battery-operated ride-on toy cars to provide a low-cost mobility option for young children with disabilities to use for movement, exploration, and play (broadly known as Go Baby Go Oregon). https://gobabygooregon.org/ Ride-on toy cars are often used by children through pressing a foot pedal to make the car ‘go’. This access method can be challenging for children with disabilities. Our ride-on car modifications include (1) adding an easy-to-press and large activation switch through electrical modification to make the car ‘go’. The switch is placed on the steering wheel or another location on the car depending on the optimal access method for each child; and (2) using low-cost and readily available materials like PVC pipe, Velcro, and pool noodles to create customized seating support for each child. So with about $200, a few tools, and about 2 hours—we provide a DIY mobility device for children with disabilities to experience self-initiated mobility for the first time in their life.
I routinely collaborate with researchers, families, and pediatric clinicians such as occupational and physical therapists, and early intervention specialists. This takes many forms such as (1) testing the effectiveness of a motorized wheelchair intervention through research; (2) providing professional development workshops to pediatric clinicians, and (3) use of participatory-based methods to involve families and children throughout the research and community-program efforts. Across all these activities, I routinely ask questions, listen, and attempt to understand the goals of families and children. I understand my identity as a non-disabled person and constantly aim to learn from the disability community to inform this work.
The Go Baby Go program is unique because it hits on so many important aspects of the Land Grant Mission. It serves the public through access and distribution of modified ride-on cars to children with disabilities who may not otherwise have access to mobility. I’ve taught an Honors College seminar on the science behind mobility and provided opportunities for students to gain hands-on experiences with modifying ride-on cars for family. Community impact is at the forefront of Go Baby Go’s mission.
The Go Baby Go community program and my research program has provided many structured and formal opportunities for students to get involved in the process. This includes serving as volunteers for community events or undergraduate research assistants. Nearly ten years ago, I developed and taught an Honors College seminar titled “Toy-based Technology for Children with Disabilities”. This is a “brains-on” and “hands-on” course where students (a) learned the science behind why mobility is important for the health and development of young children with disabilities, (b) modified ride-on toy cars in my workshop space, and (c) worked with a family to finalize modifications and deliver the car. A spin-off of the Honors College seminar was the creation of the Children Adapted Resources for Social mobility (CARS) club which I served as faculty mentor.
We’re always talking, collaborating, and learning from key stakeholders including families and children with mobility-related disabilities, pediatric clinicians, students and adults with the lived experience of using wheeled mobility, and other stakeholders such as medically complex rehabilitation professionals and the broader disability community.
The program’s community impact is massive. I estimate that the program has provided over 750 cars to Oregonian families. Undergraduate and graduate students have learned about the Go Baby Go program and its rights-based approach to human movement through coursework and research experiences. Pediatric clinicians have learned about the program through professional development workshops. High school robotics teams have modified cars for families local to their Oregon community.
I appreciate the recognition my work receives, but it also highlights a systematic failure of our healthcare system. I wish there was never a need for the Go Baby Go project to exist in the first place. Children deserve access to mobility technology designed with their needs in mind and affordable through appropriate private and public healthcare options. It’s encouraging that people value the importance of this work.
To be honest, I’m not exceedingly hopeful given the state of the world. Disabled people are an underrepresented and underserved minority group who are regularly mistreated and disparaged by society and the systems within them. A tangible example is how common it is for wheelchairs to be damaged in transit on flights. We need to treat healthcare as a right and not a privilege to truly start to address inclusive excellence in this area.
