Following our beginners guide to vehicle adaptations series, we’re now taking a closer look at mobility adaptation assessments. What are they, why are they important and how are the used to select the right vehicle adaptations for your needs?
Here we’ve detailed exactly what Mobility in Motion’s assessments consist of and why they are an essential part of their service.
The Importance of Mobility Assessments
Mobility adaptations assessments allows the mobility expert to talk to you about your current driving abilities and mobility requirements so they can select and recommend the correct adaptations.
Within the assessment, they will cover all three aspects of making the vehicle fully accessible for your needs:
Vehicle access
Firstly, they will establish if you require any accessibility aids to get in and out of the vehicle safely and comfortably which will involve asking specific questions to understand your capabilities. Some common questions include, can you stand for a short period and if so, are you balanced? What range of movement do you have with your neck or legs? Do you have the upper body strength required to help self-transfer? From this they can recommend the appropriate accessibility aids for your needs and vehicle.
Driving
Following a disability driving assessment where a trained disability driving assessor provides a report with recommendations on the appropriate driving aids to suit your needs, an adaptation specialist will determine the exact style of driving aid based on usability and vehicle compatibility. For example, if you have been advised that you require hand controls to drive, their assessor will explain the different hand controls available which have different grip shapes, range of acceleration and secondary function switches to suit varying levels of dexterity and strength.
Mobility device stowage
If you are a wheelchair or mobility scooter user, you will also need to consider if you need additional aids to lift and stow your device in your vehicle. Again, the mobility experts will understand your capabilities such as, the ability to disassemble/fold away your mobility device and if you can stand for a short period. This will allow them to determine which type of loading system would suit your needs. From there they then need to look at the measurements and weight of your mobility device to ensure compatibility with the loading system, your mobility device, and your vehicle.
It’s imperative that you are completely honest throughout the assessment process to ensure the right adaptations are recommended. We understand that for some customers this can feel slightly overwhelming but Mobility in Motion’s team approach this with the upmost care and sensitivity as they are there to help you.
Home Visit Mobility Assessments
Mobility in Motion offer home visit mobility assessments for customers who prefer to physically see the adaptations and chat face to face. And in some instances, dependent on the product of interest and/or the vehicle you have, a home visit is a requirement. For example, adaptions such as the person hoists and swivel seats will always require a physical assessment of the user operating them.
Simply choose a date and time that suits you and they will visit you in their fully equipped demonstration vehicle.
Online Mobility Assessments
Depending on your products of interest, they can also offer an online assessment where everything can be done via a telephone call and video demonstration. These provide quicker order turnaround times as you don’t need to wait for an assessor to come out to you.
Following the same process, the online assessor will ask a myriad of questions to understand your capabilities and requirements to ensure the correct adaptation is recommended and confirm vehicle compatibility.
Product Demonstrations
Both the home visit and online mobility needs assessments also include full product demonstrations to ensure that you are familiar with how the adaptations work, and that you feel comfortable to operate them.
Within a home visit, the Field Product Demonstrator will conduct a demonstration of the adaptations so you can see them in action and even give you the opportunity to try them out for yourself. Ideal for those who would prefer to physically operate the adaptations before purchasing.
And in the online assessments, the assessor will send across an in-depth demonstration video via email to showcase the adaptations in action and clear instructions on how to operate them. This is particularly handy for those who have already operated similar adaptations before or for those who need quicker order turnarounds.
Book Your Mobility in Motion Assessment
To arrange your no-obligation mobility assessment, contact the Mobility in Motion team online.
For more information visit our online product assessments page for further details on our online mobility assessments.