Manual Wheelchair Speed, Maneuverability, and Endurance and Community Access

This is a cross-section correlational study that will examine the relationships between wheelchair speed, maneuverability, and endurance with community integration. By identifying which of these has the biggest contribution to community participation, the information will be used to justify continues therapy, to alter the focus of therapy, and to justify purchase of power or power assist wheelchairs when needed. Currently, therapists make the recommendation for a power or power assist chair based on their clinical judgement and the patient's experience, but there has been limited justification from the literature for these decisions. Finally, because the CHART measure is the gold standard in rehabilitation research for community integration, but has psychometric problems, we will use this opportunity to validate a new more psychometrically solid measure, the PART-O, against the CHART.