Introduction: The ability to move independently is key to participating in daily activities and life roles. It is especially important for children because it affects their cognitive and psychosocial development. Children with physical disabilities should be given the same opportunities as their peers, which for some is only possible through the use of power wheelchairs (PW). Purpose: We wanted to investigate the positive and negative aspects of PW use and to determine whether driving skills training is a valid intervention in children with physical disabilities. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review and a case study. We searched for articles in online databases CINAHL, ScienceDirect, PubMed and Cochrane. We included a case study of a PW user, who was in the process of rehabilitation at the Department of (re)habilitation for children at University rehabilitation institute RS - Soča. We used quantitative (Canadian occupational performance measure, activity performance analysis, wheelchair driving assessment) and qualitative (semi-structured interviews) data collection methods. Results: We included 12 articles in the literature review. The main positive aspects of using PW are increased independence, new opportunities, positive influence on development, psychological and physical functions, improved attitude of society towards people with physical disabilities and lessening the burden on parents. The negative aspects are the impact of the physical and social environment, the characteristics of PW, accidents, negative feelings of users and parent, and the process of acquisition of PW. These findings were also confirmed by the user and his mother. At the end of the wheelchair skills training, the user had improved his driving skills. Discussion and conclusion: Training of PW driving skills was proven to be a valid intervention for the user who participated in this study. Despite negative aspects, users’ increased independence is invaluable to them. It would be beneficial to design standardized assessments and training protocols that are tailored to the needs of this population. Children with physical disabilities are a very heterogeneous group with different abilities and needs, so it is necessary to make a comprehensive assessment and to consider users individually when deciding on providing them with PW.
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