**NAE Wheelchair Dependent
Wheelchair dependency, or wheelchair use, is a term used in reference to individuals with physical disabilities who are able to be mobile with the use of special transportation. Many different conditions that can result in the need for a wheelchair. Various type of wheelchairs are available today, both manual and powered. They differ in frames, seating, tires, brakes, and removable hardware, and some are able to grow with the child from a very young age through the teen years.
Parents of children who use a wheel chair must consider questions such as whether the wheelchair is for indoors or outdoors, at school or at home. To transport a power chair, a ramp and a van will be needed. Other equipment may be inexpensive, such as a transfer board to help the child move into and out of the chair. Parents will need to be aware of accessibility in the child's environment-- the width of doorways or height of furniture at home, the presence of sidewalk curbs, steps, and accessible bathrooms in public. Today, many adults who use wheelchairs work in a variety of fields and lead active, productive lives.