Wheelchair mobility for people following stroke with perceptual problems.

Dr David Punt, Faculty of Health (AHP), Leeds Metropolitan University

What is the nature of wheelchair navigation problems in people with unilateral neglect?
Can affected people benefit from theoretically-driven strategies to improve navigation?

Stroke is the primary cause of chronic mobility problems in the UK and affected people are often dependent on wheelchairs for their mobility. Some people who could otherwise benefit from a powered wheelchair are denied this opportunity due to acquired perceptual problems. These difficulties (e.g. unilateral neglect) can reduce their navigational skills such that they are generally considered unsafe under the relatively strict guidelines for provision. However, recent progress through research concerning the rehabilitation of perceptual deficits may offer affected people the opportunity to improve their navigational skills and thus offer them the opportunity to take advantage of powered mobility. This study will aim to harness these promising approaches to rehabilitation that have hitherto been mainly confined to measuring performance on laboratory-based tasks and apply them to the real world activity of wheelchair navigation.

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Dr David Punt’s paper was published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry in Spring 08.

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