Equipment, good for all ages!

Every child at one time, developmental delayed or not needs some kind of equipment in order to be safe or even meet milestones on time. For those who are delayed/handicapped they NEED equipment no matter what their age is. For example my Kadyn. He has a wheel chair, bath seat, diapers, special formula, car seat, and soon will have a gait trainer.

 Here is Kadyn's first wheel chair. Also known as a Kiddy Cart. Kadyn got this at the age of 8 months old. His therapist believed this would help with positioning and help him sit up supported. Although when he was younger this chair brought him a lot of good use. We used it around the house and maybe to take him for a walk in the neighborhood, but to take it and put it in the car, it was just hard to work with. When Kadyn started school we graduated from this wheel chair to a new one.

This chair supports Kadyn's trunk, and head.It has a lap belt that keeps him back in his seat and also a chest harness. This chair is much safer for him than any stroller we have. It comes apart easily and weighs maybe 20lbs. There is also bigger wheels on it for when he gets bigger and he can learn to hopefully push himself around.

Kadyn needed his wheel chairs because in strollers he could not sit up comfortably. He would slouch down, or his chin would be in his chest. The only way he could sit in a stroller is laying down, and for him this was frustrating as he couldn't see anything.

As you can see he is laying down, no ideal for a child who wants to explore the world

Same in his jogger had to lay down

In and umbrella stroller his neck/head was not supported and his chin would go to his chest.

Also the number one reason why Kadyn needed a wheel chair when he got bigger is we had a huge accident at the park. This park has a bridge that you can go up, and where stairs used to be it's pretty much rocks, we decided to take Kadyn in his brown stroller up and over the bridge. Well on our way down the bridge Kadyn's strap broke and he went under the tray, face down into the rocks.

Which ended up with me having a heart attack and his daddy too. Although Kadyn didn't cry or act like he was in any pain, I felt awful. Kadyn still has a scar above his eye from this day. After that we retired that brown stroller and never went back over that bridge again.

Now Car seats. Kadyn has had 3 car seats. The first one being his infant car seat, but he could not sit in it like a baby should. He needed something to keep his chin from going into his neck. With the size of his head being slightly.....greatly larger than most babies we had to use receiving blankets to support his neck.

Then when Kadyn got older we moved on to a forward facing car seat. This was of most difficult to do!

We bought this car seat that the therapist suggested because it leaned back, but it was not as safe for Kadyn as I wanted it to be. I really thought he needed a better head rest that what this seat offered. This seat was a hand-me-down and was expiring. That's when I found Kadyn's car seat he has now, and a lovely person had bought this car seat for Kadyn while he was in the hospital. 

This car seat gives Kadyn all the support he needs, and he has a lot of room to grow. It holds up to 50lbs and has an option for rear or forward facing. As you can see there is room for him to show off his flexibility. I know one day he will need a better car seat from a special company covered by insurance, but for now this car seat is the best!

Kadyn also has equipment he can use at school. He has a gait trainer, crawler and a stander. Therapist work with him on these things weekly and he is beginning to enjoy them. The pictures I have are from when he first started working on them.

 I don't have any gait trainer pictures. You can see how helpful these are for Kadyn. He was 4 years old when he started out on these. It took almost a year for him to get used to them and like them. He would not have the head control he has in these if it was not for his very first wheel chair. In my opinion if I had kept Kadyn in a regular stroller until he grew out of it, he would of never of learned to control his head and neck properly. He would of spent that year laying down in a stroller and not learning his world around him. He also can use an umbrella stroller now if we need to go into a store right quick.


There are so many benefits to adaptive equipment for handicapped children of all ages. It amazes me how many are unaware of how beneficial a simple wheel chair could be for a young child with many abnormalities.   Kadyn would not be as far along as he is today if we didn't start him out in a special chair at such a young age. I mean could you imagine living your first year of life going every where in a stroller laying down? Not being able to explore the world around you, letting your disability get in the way?? That is something I promised myself I would not do for Kadyn ever! I will not let his disabilities get in the way of his abilities ever! Kadyn is a smart little guy, he is strong also.

Look how Happy and comfortable my little guy is in his chair! He never smiles when he is in any other stroller. He is not as happy. If I didn't start Kadyn in a wheel chair at such an early age, this happiness would not be there.

Here is another benefit to wheel chairs. Better parking. I don't have to face crazy drivers in the parking lot very long. Although I don't always use this, if it's a nice day out I don't use a handicap parking spot. I do though use it at his hospital all the time.


I will always have a wheel chair for Kadyn, even if/when he is walking.