Go Baby Go

 While the Go Baby Go Redo, a project that focuses on affording young children with physical disabilities the same opportunities as their peers without disabilities, has been postponed due to the pandemic, the faculty and students at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Health Professions’ Department of Physical Therapy and the Department of Occupational Therapy and Christian Brothers University Gadomski School of Engineering have continued to work on the project. The project consists of modifying small electric cars for children ages 13-months to 3-years old. Typically, simple modifications are made for safety, postural supports for optimal positioning and function, alternate placement of vehicle control system, and electrical system that provide children with disabilities a method of interacting with the world around them. A crucial modification is to remove the “lurch” or sudden movement of the car when the accelerator is pressed or when the car is otherwise activated. The primary goals this summer are to reduce the acceleration and deceleration rates, to reduce the maximum speed of the car, and to implement these modifications for less than $500.00, including the cost of the car.