Power wheelchair skills training for children with severe cerebral palsy
Tests a driving skills training program in children with severe cerebral palsy.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Grand Valley State University
- Where
- Grand Rapids, United StatesSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Em-power: Maximizing Functional Independence for Children With Severe Cerebral Palsy
- Status
- Enrolling by invitation
- People taking part
- 16 people, planned
- Started
- 29 Aug 2024
- Expected to end
- 1 Mar 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets no study treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Power wheelchair skills training using the IndieTrainer system
- Record updated
- 14 April 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for children with severe cerebral palsy who cannot walk or push a manual wheelchair. It tests 8 weeks of power wheelchair skills training.
- Age
- 5 Years to 17 Years
- Sex
- All sexes
- Disease stage
- Severe cerebral palsy, Gross Motor Function Classification System Level IV or V. The child cannot walk or push a manual wheelchair in a useful way.
- Earlier treatment
- The child cannot already have their own prescribed power wheelchair.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Cannot sit in their own manual wheelchair or adaptive stroller for 60 minutes
- Their manual wheelchair or stroller cannot be used safely with the IndieTrainer System
- Already has their own prescribed power wheelchair
- The study physical therapist decides the child cannot safely take part, based on their health history
- Must show they understand they move the IndieTrainer with a switch or joystick (ALP Assessment Phase 4 or higher). One parent must speak English and take part.
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 8 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Diagnosis of severe CP (Gross Motor Function Classification System Level IV or V)
- Inability to functionally walk or functionally propel a manual wheelchair as assessed by the Principal Investigator a licensed physical therapist
- Demonstrate cause and effect skills in the IndieTrainer consistent with an Assessment of Learning Powered mobility use (ALP Assessment) Phase 4 or higher (i.e., understand that they are moving the IndieTrainer using the switch(es) or joystick) as assessed by the Principal Investigator, a licensed physical therapist
- In addition, one parent/caregiver must be conversant in English and be able to provide their child's medical and health history and be willing to take on the parent participant role
Who cannot take part
- The inability to sit in their own manual wheelchair or adaptive stroller for 60 minutes (as this would preclude them safely using the IndieTrainer System for the 60-minute intervention sessions)
- Their manual wheelchair or adaptive stroller cannot be safely used with the IndieTrainer System
- They already have an individually prescribed power wheelchair
- If the Principal Investigator, a licensed physical therapist, determines that based on the child's medical and health history, that they cannot safely participate in power wheelchair skills training
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 5 and 17 years old?
Where in United States
- Grand Valley State UniversityGrand Rapids, United StatesEnrolling by invitation
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
For children with severe cerebral palsy, a powered wheelchair (PWC) may provide their only option for functional mobility and independence. PWC use is often restricted to a small percentage of children who can quickly demonstrate proficient PWC skills within a single 30-minute PWC trial. This 2-arm, parallel group, single blinded, pre-test-post-test randomized controlled trial will test our hypothesis that an 8-week PWC skills training intervention will produce greater improvements in children's PWC skills capacity immediately after the intervention and at an 8-week follow-up assessment.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Group A: Experimental GroupTreatment being tested
Group A: The Experimental Group will receive the 8-week evidence-based PWC skills training using the IndieTrainer System following T0 baseline testing
Treatment: Power wheelchair skills training using the IndieTrainer system
- Group B: Wait List Control GroupNo study treatment, for comparison
Group B: The Wait List Control Group will receive the 8-week evidence-based PWC skills training using the IndieTrainer System following T2 testing
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Em-power: Maximizing Functional Independence for Children With Severe Cerebral Palsy
- Plain-language title
- Power wheelchair skills training for children with severe cerebral palsyGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 14 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT06347432, who can take part
- Record updated
- 14 April 2026