Walkers

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HealthWiki > Disabled Village Children > Chapter 63: Walking Aids > Walkers

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In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

There are many ways to make walkers or walking frames. Here we show a range from very simple to more complex. Choose the design and height depending on the child’s needs and size.

Julio has strong arms and good body control. He can use a simple low walker.	Lico has weak arm muscles and difficulty with balance and body control. He needs a higher walker with armrests.	Anna has weak leg muscles and difficulty with balance. She does best with underarm crutches built into the walker.

The above walkers can be made with 2 cm x 4 cm boards (such as those used on roofs to hold tiles), or thin trees or branches. The wood or plywood wheels roll easily when little weight is on them (when child pushes walker) but have a braking action when child puts full weight on them (when taking a step).

	SIDE VIEW	FRONT VIEW
	diagonal support adds strength. round edges of handle. nails wood or plywood wheel piece of steel construction rod (re-bar) triangular construction adds strength.

Finding the design that works best for a particular child often involves experimenting and changing different features.

For example. Carlota has difficulty with body and hip control, and tends to fall through the space between her arms when the handgrips are upright.		A higher walker with a bar as the handgrip works better for her.
				This walker with slanting bars lets a child hold it at the height that he finds works best.

Other walker designs

	WALKER MADE FROM CANE, RATTAN, OR BAMBOO	WOOD WALKER
Design from Rattan and Bamboo Equipment For Handicapped Children, J. K. Hutt		Design by Don Caston
	of materials like cane, ribbon, nylon string, or strips of car inner tube.	Wood walker for a child whose legs need to be held apart.

Note: A walker with no wheels is very stable but harder to move.			seat
		A walker with 2 wheels and 2 posts is fairly stable but easy to move.	A walker with 3 or 4 wheels is very easy to move but can easily roll out from under the child (unless the child is seated).

WALKER MADE FROM SOLID IRON ROD (RE-BAR) WITH ARM RESTS — WELDING REQUIRED

Design from Simple Prosthesis Manufacture, Chris Dartnell.

Measure child.

elbow height

Cut and bend rod.

Assemble walker. padding or hand-grips from crutches slider rubber wood wheel

SIDE VIEW

FRONT VIEW

ARMREST

Weld curved armrest to rod.

width of forearm

angled toward body

leather, cardboard, plastic, or sponge

wheel

washer

nail

weld

SIMPLE WALKER MADE FROM SOLID IRON ROD (RE-BAR)— WELDING REQUIRED

Design from Simple Prosthesis Manufacture, Chris Dartnell.	Cut and weld rod.	SIDE VIEW	FRONT VIEW
arms in half-bent position

CART WALKER

	Design from Finnie’s Handling the Young Cerebral Palsied Child at Home
The added weight in the cart can help the child stand firmly—and makes learning to walk more fun.	As the child progresses, he can change his grip from the front bar to the side bars.	Wheels on this cart walker are made from the round seed pods of a tree in Mexico, called Hava de San Ignacio.

ROLLER SEAT AND TRICYCLE WALKERS

	Useful for a child with cerebral palsy who “bunny hops” (crawls pulling both legs forward together). Seat holds legs apart. The chimney helps child keep his arms up and apart.	Stable for the beginner
Design from Finnie’s Handling the Young Cerebral Palsied Child at Home

WALKERS FOR SITTING AND STANDING

SPIDER WALKER

Useful for the small child severely affected by cerebral palsy.

Pad the frame

bolt

rounded padded seat

SADDLE-TYPE WALKER

Design from UPKARAN Manual.

This page was updated:18 Sep 2024