TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Nusantara Handycap Organization (OHANA) executive director and United Nations Human Rights committee member Risnawati Utami explained the four types of wheelchairs that are designed and functions to different situations.
Wheelchairs must fit its user’s body profile prior to being used, “This is why it is measured first before it is made, especially in the pelvis area and backbone up until the shoulders,” said Risnawati to Tempo. Here are the classifications of wheelchairs and its specific use:
1. Wheelchairs for health rehabilitation
This type of wheelchair usually is equipped with a special technology that is useful for the user’s health. This type is often used in hospitals for medical uses and corrects deformities.
2. Sport Wheelchairs
This is a specific wheelchair used by Paralympic athletes that can be used in numerous sporting events such as basketball, Para-athletics, archery, tennis, and cycling. This type of wheelchair is comprised of light-weight materials with specific balances and is flexible.
3. Mobility Wheelchairs
This is the common wheelchair used by people with disabilities to roam their daily activities from A to B. There is also an aisle wheelchair specifically made to pass through airplane seat aisles. There are numerous evolution of this, such as the ones used for travelling that are able to crawl on uneven fields.
4. Wheelchairs for cerebral palsy patients
This type of wheelchair is a little different to the wheelchair used for health rehabilitation, with a higher backrest and is equipped with a head rest. This type of wheelchair is designed to sustain and keep upright the position of cerebral palsy patients.
CHETA NILAWATY P.
