Freedom For Families
When you are supporting a family member with accessibility needs, we can help you to understand and gain access to the right types of adaptations. For children up to the age of 18, we provide car seat or harness assessments; for post-18, we provide full passenger assessments. For any age, we can give assessments for wheelchair adapted vehicles and mobility equipment, including Bugzi for very young children.
Car Seat
This assessment will provide you with the security and freedom to travel knowing that your child is safe, secure, and comfortable.
For most babies and small children, standard car seats provide enough postural support in a vehicle. Some children and young adults may need more specialist seating or a harness. Knowing what is available and right can be confusing, as there are legal requirements around height and weight that must be adhered to. To help with this, we offer specialist car seat assessment services for children and young people.
We work closely with the patient’s therapist to ensure a suitable seating position is achieved. During the assessment, information about charities that may assist with funding will also be available.
We conduct car seat clinics from our centres in Hull, Manchester, Oxford, and Solihull. Furthermore, we accept referrals from Healthcare Professionals and Self-Referrals. Both routes to referral are free of charge.
Passenger Access Support
RDAC provides a range of ways to look at accessible travel, you can attend one of our Accessibility Open days where you will be able to see a range of adaptations for passengers, mobility wheelchairs and scooters and find more information about accessible transport for longer distances.
You can also book an access assessment for young people post-16 or where you are looking at a wheelchair adapted vehicle, swivel seating or a boot hoist. An Occupational Therapist will look at your individual needs in more detail, talk through potential options and support you to make choices most useful to you.
How long does the assessment take?
You should allow approximately 1 hour for the assessment; a full access assessment may take longer. This is to allow you to move through each stage of the assessment at your own pace.
Following the assessment a full comprehensive report will be written which you will receive 10-14 working days after the assessment.
How To Book
RDAC is a charity; we want to support families and prioritise keeping assessments free for children. If you would like to support us by making a donation, you can do this on the front page of this website or by calling us on 0300 300 2240.
The cost of a full access assessment for an older child is, unfortunately, not covered by funding; to be sustainable, we do need to charge a fee. If you are referred through the NHS, the referral cost is £75.00; you will need a health professional to do this for you.
A self-referral and carries a fee of £150, which will be taken when we call you to book you in for an assessment, following the submission of this form. If you cancel your booking within 2 working days, we cannot offer a refund. If you cancel more than 2 working days before your booking date, we charge an admin fee of £20.
Case Study
Bugzi: Empowering Young Children with Independent Mobility
Cannot speak highly enough for what Bugzi gives Ethan, he LOVES his independence so much. He took himself to the end of his Papa’s lane today to watch the cars whizzing past! Ethan simply loves the freedom it gives him to go wherever he wants. It doesn’t bear thinking about if we couldn’t offer him this opportunity to explore. Thank you so much, Bugzi!!” (Ethan’s Mum, 2019).
Bugzi is a powered wheelchair for children aged one to six or up to 25kg. It enables children with disabilities to experience independent mobility, providing them with the opportunity to explore and discover the excitement of being mobile. Fortunately, Bugzi has an off switch and speed control so parents can keep them safe.
Bugzi needs to stay dry and is only able to go over small bumps, but it is perfect to use on flat surfaces. It can be easily transported in a vehicle and can be used in your home, nursery, school, play group, play centre or outside in drier conditions with flatter surfaces.
Bugzi is loaned to families for free after attending an assessment with one of our Occupational Therapists. Applications for the free Bugzi loan scheme should be made with the support of a health professional and via the Bugzi website. We conduct Bugzi Assessments from our Head Office in Solihull.
Get Involved With RDAC
As a charity, RDAC relies on grants and donations to fund the critical service it provides. We are always grateful for the support of the public, and if you would like to donate, we ensure that contributions go directly to front-line services.
If you are interested in talking to us about commercial partnerships, becoming a Trustee or volunteering with us, please contact us at info@rdac.co.uk. Thank you.
