Go, Baby, Go
Edgewood teams modifying ride-ons to give kids mobility
March 15, 2019 at 10:36 p.m.
Go, Baby, Go
By David [email protected]
The ride-ons resemble a small jeep, and Edgewood Middle School students and local volunteers met with the children Thursday to figure out how to modify the vehicles to serve each child’s needs.
“This is where the teams meet their child they’re going to help modify the 12-volt vehicle for,” said Edgewood teacher Abbi Richcreek Thursday. “And they will not be back until April sometime when we have built more support or modifications for them so they can actually drive the vehicle so they can be a kid.”
One team is working on each child’s ride-on: a Dalton/Zimmer Biomet team, a DePuy team and a Warsaw Community Schools team.
Richcreek came up with the project after hearing about Go Baby Go, a national, community-based research, design and outreach program that provides modified ride-on cars to children birth to age 3 who experience limited mobility, according to the Oregon State University website. The program began in 2012 with founder Cole Galloway. Integrating assistive technology, families, clinicians and industry partners, the program provides children with disability the opportunity for movement, mobility and socialization.
Richcreek said, “It’s a national movement of helping modify electric cars for kids, that we can do something now versus waiting and having very expensive equipment. This way they can experience what being a kid is, independence, mobility, which is very important for their stage of life.”
She said the children have physical impairments so the modifications will allow them to be independent and mobile.
One of those children is Aurora Koher, 3, who turns 4 in May. She is diagnosed with congenital hypertonia, but her family will get her true diagnosis in April, according to her grandma, Peggy Bause.
“She will never be able to walk on her own. As she gets older, in her 30s or 40s, it will eventually get worse. There’s no cure for what she has,” Bause said. “Her mother has the same thing. Her mother is more extreme. They also have scoliosis. They just don’t have the muscle tone to hold the bones in place.”
Koher uses a walker to get around. Bause said the modified ride-on will give her mobility and be her legs on the family farm.
Richcreek said Galloway came up with Go Baby Go to “help kids now and at an affordable way and also to be able to involve our own community to make this happen.”
When Richcreek saw Galloway speak at a conference, she thought it was a fabulous idea, so she wrote a grant to the Kosciusko County Community Foundation. “They have fully funded the materials and the cars for the three kids,” Richcreek said.
The children receiving the ride-ons were suggested by WCS Director of Special Services Amy Hobbs. Richcreek called the parents and asked them if they would be willing to participate with the 15 Edgewood students and volunteer engineers from the community.
Hobbs said, “It’s just amazing for me to sit here as we talk about inclusion for our kids with disabilities, to see the older kids looking at stabilization for kids with disabilities, making sure they’re safe in these cars. It’s just the epitome of inclusion.”
Parents Elizabeth and Stephen Hausman are participating with their daughter Addy, who has a rare neurodevelopmental disorder called GNA01-related disorder. The disorder was discovered in 2013, Elizabeth said.
“She’s 3½ and the diagnosis itself is a neurological disorder. It’s progressive, so around the age of 4 is when it starts to get worse. ... It’s got a movement disorder associated with it, so she’s got a lot of involuntary movements and things like that. Seizures are also associated with it, but she could have seizures, but she has not had any,” Elizabeth said. “She’s very happy, very determined. She does therapy four, five times a week.”
Addy is getting too big to be carried around, so they got her a wheelchair in August so the staff at Good Beginnings Preschool can transport her better.
“One of the things that is really important for us is to make sure that anything kids can do her age, that she also is able to do somehow. One of the doctors that we see had made a recommendation … if kids her age are able to run across a playground, figure out a way, modify things, find anyway you can to get her to do the same thing so she can keep up,” Elizabeth said.
Engineers from local companies are mentoring the students on ride-on modifications.
Monica Rozelle, an engineer with DePuy, said, “I believe it’s the right thing to do. Give a child as much as outside activity and mobility as possible. To feel like they belong just like their cousins, sister or brothers. That’s why I volunteered.”
Zimmer Biomet manufacturing engineer David Zigon said he volunteered because “it’s kids. I love working with kids and I like seeing the smiles on their faces.”
Physical therapist Dr. Aaron Turner is consulting with the Edgewood students on the modifications. He said, “I think it is going to give kids an opportunity to do some of the things that maybe they struggle with. Give them adjustments within the cars so they can have a normal, everyday life like the kids that they see in their environments with brothers or sisters. Just giving them a better opportunity and growth throughout their milestones.”
Richcreek said the Edgewood students “have shown that they are dedicated and outstanding and have provided outstanding work to me, so I chose them based on that criteria to participate. They showed they had good engineering skills and people skills.”
Eighth-grader Grant Cook said, “What we hope to do is make (the ride-ons) comfortable and able for them to drive them around once they’re big enough or just to have fun with the vehicles themselves.”
Cook, who wants to study engineering at Purdue University, said he thinks the project will be “pretty cool” and “a lot of fun.”
Student Isaac Beam said, “I thought it sounded really creative and it made me feel good. I thought the kids would really enjoy so I just wanted to make their dream possible.”
Emma Ferguson, seventh-grader, said she volunteered for the project because, “I love kids so much. And seeing them happy and their bright faces when they do stuff they love, I just think that is the best thing in the world and it’s amazing to be a part of.”
The teams work for two hours after school on Thursdays. Next Thursday, the teams will start building the modifications. The deadline is the first Friday in May as the “Drive Event” will be at First Friday in downtown Warsaw. The Drive Event will consist of her students, volunteers and the kids driving their vehicles around to show them to the community.
“The kids will be able to take their cars home on that Friday and it’s theirs and it’s free of charge. Hopefully, they will be able to use it and be independent and mobile and happy,” Richcreek said.
Sara, the daughter of Fabiola Nunez, is the third child getting a modified ride-on. Sara has Down syndrome.
“We didn’t know she had Down syndrome until she was born. We have been very lucky and very grateful with the community because we’ve been receiving all the support we need from the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Indiana. She gets therapies from First Steps and Joe’s Kids. She’s been amazing. She’s very happy, she likes to play with her sister, she loves music. And I think she’s very friendly. We are also very grateful for this opportunity, not only for her, but for all the kids. I just want her to get the opportunity to be independent in the future,” Fabiola said.
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The ride-ons resemble a small jeep, and Edgewood Middle School students and local volunteers met with the children Thursday to figure out how to modify the vehicles to serve each child’s needs.
“This is where the teams meet their child they’re going to help modify the 12-volt vehicle for,” said Edgewood teacher Abbi Richcreek Thursday. “And they will not be back until April sometime when we have built more support or modifications for them so they can actually drive the vehicle so they can be a kid.”
One team is working on each child’s ride-on: a Dalton/Zimmer Biomet team, a DePuy team and a Warsaw Community Schools team.
Richcreek came up with the project after hearing about Go Baby Go, a national, community-based research, design and outreach program that provides modified ride-on cars to children birth to age 3 who experience limited mobility, according to the Oregon State University website. The program began in 2012 with founder Cole Galloway. Integrating assistive technology, families, clinicians and industry partners, the program provides children with disability the opportunity for movement, mobility and socialization.
Richcreek said, “It’s a national movement of helping modify electric cars for kids, that we can do something now versus waiting and having very expensive equipment. This way they can experience what being a kid is, independence, mobility, which is very important for their stage of life.”
She said the children have physical impairments so the modifications will allow them to be independent and mobile.
One of those children is Aurora Koher, 3, who turns 4 in May. She is diagnosed with congenital hypertonia, but her family will get her true diagnosis in April, according to her grandma, Peggy Bause.
“She will never be able to walk on her own. As she gets older, in her 30s or 40s, it will eventually get worse. There’s no cure for what she has,” Bause said. “Her mother has the same thing. Her mother is more extreme. They also have scoliosis. They just don’t have the muscle tone to hold the bones in place.”
Koher uses a walker to get around. Bause said the modified ride-on will give her mobility and be her legs on the family farm.
Richcreek said Galloway came up with Go Baby Go to “help kids now and at an affordable way and also to be able to involve our own community to make this happen.”
When Richcreek saw Galloway speak at a conference, she thought it was a fabulous idea, so she wrote a grant to the Kosciusko County Community Foundation. “They have fully funded the materials and the cars for the three kids,” Richcreek said.
The children receiving the ride-ons were suggested by WCS Director of Special Services Amy Hobbs. Richcreek called the parents and asked them if they would be willing to participate with the 15 Edgewood students and volunteer engineers from the community.
Hobbs said, “It’s just amazing for me to sit here as we talk about inclusion for our kids with disabilities, to see the older kids looking at stabilization for kids with disabilities, making sure they’re safe in these cars. It’s just the epitome of inclusion.”
Parents Elizabeth and Stephen Hausman are participating with their daughter Addy, who has a rare neurodevelopmental disorder called GNA01-related disorder. The disorder was discovered in 2013, Elizabeth said.
“She’s 3½ and the diagnosis itself is a neurological disorder. It’s progressive, so around the age of 4 is when it starts to get worse. ... It’s got a movement disorder associated with it, so she’s got a lot of involuntary movements and things like that. Seizures are also associated with it, but she could have seizures, but she has not had any,” Elizabeth said. “She’s very happy, very determined. She does therapy four, five times a week.”
Addy is getting too big to be carried around, so they got her a wheelchair in August so the staff at Good Beginnings Preschool can transport her better.
“One of the things that is really important for us is to make sure that anything kids can do her age, that she also is able to do somehow. One of the doctors that we see had made a recommendation … if kids her age are able to run across a playground, figure out a way, modify things, find anyway you can to get her to do the same thing so she can keep up,” Elizabeth said.
Engineers from local companies are mentoring the students on ride-on modifications.
Monica Rozelle, an engineer with DePuy, said, “I believe it’s the right thing to do. Give a child as much as outside activity and mobility as possible. To feel like they belong just like their cousins, sister or brothers. That’s why I volunteered.”
Zimmer Biomet manufacturing engineer David Zigon said he volunteered because “it’s kids. I love working with kids and I like seeing the smiles on their faces.”
Physical therapist Dr. Aaron Turner is consulting with the Edgewood students on the modifications. He said, “I think it is going to give kids an opportunity to do some of the things that maybe they struggle with. Give them adjustments within the cars so they can have a normal, everyday life like the kids that they see in their environments with brothers or sisters. Just giving them a better opportunity and growth throughout their milestones.”
Richcreek said the Edgewood students “have shown that they are dedicated and outstanding and have provided outstanding work to me, so I chose them based on that criteria to participate. They showed they had good engineering skills and people skills.”
Eighth-grader Grant Cook said, “What we hope to do is make (the ride-ons) comfortable and able for them to drive them around once they’re big enough or just to have fun with the vehicles themselves.”
Cook, who wants to study engineering at Purdue University, said he thinks the project will be “pretty cool” and “a lot of fun.”
Student Isaac Beam said, “I thought it sounded really creative and it made me feel good. I thought the kids would really enjoy so I just wanted to make their dream possible.”
Emma Ferguson, seventh-grader, said she volunteered for the project because, “I love kids so much. And seeing them happy and their bright faces when they do stuff they love, I just think that is the best thing in the world and it’s amazing to be a part of.”
The teams work for two hours after school on Thursdays. Next Thursday, the teams will start building the modifications. The deadline is the first Friday in May as the “Drive Event” will be at First Friday in downtown Warsaw. The Drive Event will consist of her students, volunteers and the kids driving their vehicles around to show them to the community.
“The kids will be able to take their cars home on that Friday and it’s theirs and it’s free of charge. Hopefully, they will be able to use it and be independent and mobile and happy,” Richcreek said.
Sara, the daughter of Fabiola Nunez, is the third child getting a modified ride-on. Sara has Down syndrome.
“We didn’t know she had Down syndrome until she was born. We have been very lucky and very grateful with the community because we’ve been receiving all the support we need from the Down Syndrome Association of Northeast Indiana. She gets therapies from First Steps and Joe’s Kids. She’s been amazing. She’s very happy, she likes to play with her sister, she loves music. And I think she’s very friendly. We are also very grateful for this opportunity, not only for her, but for all the kids. I just want her to get the opportunity to be independent in the future,” Fabiola said.
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