Assistive Technology_2: Wheelchair.

 According to UNICEF, there are about 240 million children with disabilities worldwide. Like all children, children with disabilities also have ambitions and dreams for their future. However, unlike normal children, their dreams remain as dreams only due to their disability. Inclusive education has now become the best solution to make their dream come true, as it aims to provide equal opportunities for all students, regardless of their physical, intellectual, or emotional abilities. Assistive technology is one of the key enablers of inclusive education, which bridges the gap between the needs of disabled learners and the demands of the learning environment.

The wheelchair is an assistive device or technology that is prominently used to promote mobility and quality of living for a person with moving difficulties. The invention of a rough model of the wheelchair dates back to 1595, when an unknown inventor created the first known wheelchair for King Phillip II of Spain. Later, in the year, Stephan Farffler, a 22-year-old paraplegic German watchmaker, built a self-propelled chair on a three-wheel chassis. This is considered one of the first self-propelled wheelchairs. However, the credit for inventing the modern manual wheelchair is given to Harry C. Jennings Sr. and his disabled friend Herbert Everest, who invented the first lightweight, foldable wheelchair in 1933. 

In the educational field, the wheelchair plays a pivotal role in helping a person or learner with walking difficulties. According to WHO (2021), over 75 million children worldwide have walking difficulties. The wheelchairs provide students with walking difficulty to access classrooms, participate in group work, move between different school facilities, and engage in daily activities alongside their peers. This helps students to learn equally as a normal learner without any hindrance due to physical disability. A wheelchair particularly helps to improve the lives of people with physical disabilities. Nowadays, Bhutanese people with walking disabilities are also using wheelchairs to move from one place to another.

With the changing times, wheelchair design has evolved greatly over time. People can now also use wheelchairs powered by electricity, standing wheelchairs, single-arm drive wheelchairs, etc. Wheelchairs benefit millions and have enormous advantages. However, there are also numerous challenges to using a wheelchair, like financial barriers, where poor people with walking disabilities face difficulty in affording it. In addition, using a wheelchair requires proper roads or paths, and the lack of such facilities poses challenges in using a wheelchair, especially in rural areas. In the Bhutanese educational setting, all the infrastructure is of traditional design, which lacks a ramp and a proper road for learners who use wheelchairs to move from one class to another. I think this is the biggest challenge for students who use wheelchairs for mobility in a traditional learning physical environment.

The effectiveness of wheelchairs is maintained by numerous features, like adjustable seats and backrests that aid students in maintaining good posture, while footrests and armrests offer the extra support they need to sit comfortably. There are safety belts that keep the user secure, especially during movement. Many wheelchairs also have special cushions that prevent discomfort or pressure sores, which is especially important during long hours in class. For students who can’t move the chair manually, powered wheelchairs with joystick or touchpad controls give them the freedom to move around on their own. Some models can tilt or recline, helping students rest or change positions when needed, and anti-tip wheels add an extra layer of safety. Built-in tray tables make it easier for students to take part in lessons, and foldable frames make transportation easier. Adjustable heights help students sit at the same desks as their classmates.

Though Bhutan’s education system strives to embrace the philosophy of inclusive education, challenges such as financial constraints and the lack of essential infrastructure, like ramps and accessible pathways for moving wheelchairs between classrooms and learning facilities, continue to hinder its effective implementation. I think the Bhutanese government should take these challenges into consideration and develop ways to solve these problems. Moreover, the learning environment should be conducive and supportive so that the disabled learner doesn't feel any different from a normal learner.