The University of Central Florida and Orlando Health are teaming up today to give some children with limited mobility a little bit of independence.
Orlando Health is sponsoring a UCF Go Baby Go! event at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children
in downtown Orlando. UCF Go Baby Go! was established in 2015 as a chapter of the national Go Baby Go! program, which develops innovative, accessible ways to improve the lives of children and adults with limited mobility. The program creates modified ride-on toy cars for young children and portable-assistive harness systems for children and adults.
Jennifer Tucker, who runs the program at UCF and is a lecturer in the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, will provide a workshop for parents and physical therapists from Orlando Health. Tucker will address how important mobility is for a child’s development and she will talk about the local and national efforts of Go Baby Go!
“This is about independent mobility,” Tucker said. “We know that getting children mobile isn’t just a necessary part of their physical therapy. It is also a critical part in a child’s socialization, growth and future potential. This is about so much more than a car. This is about giving a child an opportunity at a future that includes not being left on the sidelines as their peers move ahead.”
Afterwards, the attendees will join UCF volunteers who will help them build the modified ride-on toy cars at the hospital. Ten children will be able to take the vehicles home. One car will stay at the hospital to give pediatric patients an opportunity for a fun driving experience during hospital stays.