1. Some wheelchairs powered by an electric battery are for indoor use only. More robust ones are known as indoor/outdoor chairs. And some monsters - known as class 3 - are legal for road use with a top speed of eight mph. Indoors, the main thing to watch for is room to manoeuvre, checking for instance the width of doorways and for barriers such as stairs. Powered chairs vary in their turning circle, but all are likely to need more room than manual wheelchairs. Advise able-bodied young people to keep their toes from under the wheels. Those chairs are heavy.
2. Who uses powered wheelchairs? Generally speaking, people whose mobility is severely impaired, and who cannot self-propel a manual wheelchair. In practical terms this means users tend to be young people with disabilities including cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy and brittle bones. Those who qualify may get a basic powered chair through the NHS, though the quality of wheelchair services is patchy. Some young people acquire a chair privately - either from local fundraising, gifts from charities, or compensation money.
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