CTN families can now borrow the FreeWheel® wheelchair attachment for up to two weeks!

CTN Equipment Loan Program (ELP), funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation has recently purchased a FreeWheel® wheelchair attachment. The FreeWheel® attaches to the footrest of your manual wheelchair and transforms it into an all-terrain chair. When not in use, the FreeWheel® stores on the back of your chair in seconds. The FreeWheel® can be used with all rigid frame wheelchairs, with a footplate height of 2”-4 ¾ “, standard pneumatic tire and standard footplate.

CTN supports children, youth and families by focusing on CanChild's framework of the F-words for Child Development. Every child with varying abilities has the right to have fun, enjoy friends, function as they are, access fitness, plan for their future and join in family activities like hiking! You can even discover new accessible trails in Ontario here.

What are the benefits of the FreeWheel®?

1. Family/Fun/Friends - Nature lovers will have fun with friends and family hiking on our Ontario trails!
2. Functioning - Pushing through grass, gravel, uneven surfaces and even snow becomes significantly easier with the FreeWheel®
3. Fitness - We often focus on the benefits of physical fitness, however access to nature is also key for our mental wellbeing!

The FreeWheel® is part of the CTN Equipment Loan Program and can be borrowed for two weeks by families of children and youth who receive occupational therapy or physiotherapy services and live in Simcoe County or York Region. Speak to your child’s therapist for more information or email equipment@ctnsy.ca.

Learn more about the benefits of the FreeWheel® here.

Watch this video to learn more- FreeWheel® Set-Up Guide Video:

1 Rosenbaum, P., & Gorter, J. W. (2012). The ‘F‐words’ in childhood disability: I swear this is how we should think!. Child: care, health and development, 38(4), 457-463 http://www.canchild.ca/f-words Before F-Words for Child Development

2022-03-10