Speaking of wheelchairs.....

[mommy2cnj]

Does anyone know if it is mandatory to have a headrest on a wheelchair for use in school bus transportation? I want my son to be as safe as possible, but he's wanting to get a sports chair (have RX in hand). He wants to play basketball, but the problem is whether or not it's mandatory to have the headrest on the chair for trans. The closest thing I could come up with research-wise, is to have a removable one put on. Not being familiar with these chairs, I have no clue if this can be done?! Any input? Thank you in advance!! :)

[Barb]

Nope. The only thing mandatory is a seat belt if he does not transfer out to a seat. They do not like it i it doesn't have brakes but they cant force you to put them on. If they hassle you, bring a doctors note saying that it is not necessary. That is what I had to do with the seatbelt issue in PE. C never, ever had a headrest and no one ever said anything. It was always the brake issue I had to argue.

[Dodger67]

The only chairs I have ever seen with headrests are fitted for people who need head support (quads).
Basketball chair backrests usually only go up to about the waist to allow maximum freedom of movement.
He would never use his basketball chair off the court - definitely not on the bus! The seating position is in any case such that it would be totally impractical for any other use.
So we are definitely takling about 2 different chairs.

BTW - who has seen the movie "Murderball"? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436613/
Its a very good documentary about elite level wheelchair athletes. :cool:
It's about Wheelchair Rugby but the chairs (and the type of people) are the same as for basketball.
Its rated PG13 so don't show it to the kiddies without explaining the "rough stuff" to them!

[mommy2cnj]

Alrighty........thank you both very much for your replies. This would be his third chair he's going to get, and we definitely know we don't want something as heavyweight as what he has know, although we don't want anything that's unable to serve the purpose.

Thank you again!! Kudos!!

[mommy2cnj]

Wanted to give an update. We ended up finding a Quickie "sporty" chair (paperwork is yet on the way) that will end up being able to serve either purpose - sports or everyday use. I'm sure the way my son goes through burning up his tires, however *rolls eyes*, he'll just use it for everyday use.

Even though it has a lowered back for the seating, they can still put on a removable headrest or a swivel (we're going with the removable). I would never have thought they'd be able to do that but viola....it'll be there. We are going to forego the 4-point harness and just go with a chest strap. Therefore, we'll have all the required or non-required transportation issues covered (and it's still up in the air if he'll be riding the bus or not).

I've found out that the place he can go for sports has the chairs there for the kids' use. They actually designate a chair for them and put their name on it, so that is 'their' chair when they return next. I've also been hearing more and more about this place.....I'm becoming more and more excited. I think if this kid had any more upper body strength, he'd turn into the Hulk!! He seems ready to burst out of his body!! :D

[Barb]

Is he going to a Blaze program? They do that at the Blaze here in Vegas.

Glad you found a chair. I was just looking at C in his today and realized how badly it needs to be growth adjusted. He has only had it about 9 months but he has GROWN!

[mommy2cnj]

Is he going to a Blaze program? They do that at the Blaze here in Vegas.

Erm.......a Blaze program? Never heard of. I guess this place was originally for adults only, but now they have opened it up to youth, as well. I couldn't be happier about that!

I can just about hear the ton of your voice when I see that 'GROWN'! :D
Our next clinic appointment, we'll be getting a new Rx for the other kiddo to get a new w/c. So far, I truly like the place we found and hope they keep that rep!! (They'd better, 2 w/c's in a year.....:eek: )

[Barb]

Blaze has chapters in various places around the US so I was not sure if that is what you were involved in. It is a great program http://www.blazesports.com/

[KMkaggerud]

I hope you and your son have a good visit at the next clinic appt.

I have played wheelchair basketball and the chair I played in I also used as my everyday chair to get around and I never had to get a removable headrest to use on the buses. The only thing that my parents and I had to make sure of with the wheelchair was that the wheelchair was a rigid frame and that the foot rest didn't pop up in order to play basketball in the chair.

Take Care,
Kristin from Northern, CA

[Dodger67]

The kind of basketball I have seen definitely requires serious! crash bars all around the front to protect the feet & legs and the footrest set well back (in fact under the seat) as well as the main wheels tilted for extra stability. Such a chair would be quite useless for everyday use.

[Barb]

Here is a good picture of what the chairs we use here for bball look like. C uses one very similar to the orange one. This is completely different than his everyday chair which looks alot like the one in the top picture of the forum.
file:///C:/Users/Mom/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpghttp://www.nwba.org/albums/2005WD/2005_NWWBT_001.sized.jpg

[Dodger67]

Barb
You can't link to a picture that is on your own PC. If you do that you are the only one who can see the photo.
It must be on a web server.
Upload it to a free photo album site such as www.photobucket.com (http://www.photobucket.com)

[Barb]

That is wierd how it did that. It was a link originally. Looks like firefox somehow did something to it. I will fix it in a bit:o

[KMkaggerud]

If this is your first time playing wheelchair basketball and aren't sure if you are going to like it, it is good to get a wheelchair that you can play in as well as use for everyday until you are sure that you really like playing wheelchair basketball and want to compete more in wheelchair basketball games and be on a team.

Because here in the US medical insurance companies usually don't pay for wheelchairs used for any type of sports such as basketball or tennis. The price for those chairs comes out of the customers own pocket.

[stub20]

yeah, the weheelchairs used for basketball are a waste of time for everyday use. Theyre to wide, and too heavy, but they definitely are suited for what they do when you get them onto the court.