The first time I thought about doing wheelchair prescription work, I was at the Canadian Seating and Mobility Conference as a student occupational therapist. I was dazzled by the excitement of the vendors, manufacturers and clinicians who all wanted to work in harmony to empower people to move freely.

 

The next time I dreamed about doing mobility work was during one of my placements in the Brantford area. My preceptor arranged for me to spend a day at the Brantwood Community Services seating clinic. The clients and professionals there had so much fun getting creative to build ideal wheelchairs as affordably as possible.​

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Years went by as I honed skills working as an occupational therapist. I worked in a hospital, outpatient clinics, clients' homes, and in a transitional reactivation program at a retirement residence. The people I worked with had many different challenges that I helped them to manage or overcome, including acute physical illness and injury, mental health struggles, brain injuries, chronic/persistent pain, and chronic conditions. Each person was unique and needed something different, designed just for them. Doing this work gave me confidence in my ability to efficiently assess and address a person's needs while upholding the core values of occupational therapy in Ontario: Respect and Trust.

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In January 2024, I became an authorizer with the Assistive Devices Program (ADP) so I could secure funding for my clients to help them pay for walkers and wheelchairs that they need in their everyday lives. I built collaborative working relationships with the ADP-approved vendors in the area so that clients can get what they need efficiently. To this day, I have not had an ADP funding application denied!

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At the end of 2024, the rehabilitation program I was employed in experienced significant cutbacks and I was given alternate work that would have taken me out of the mobility device world. I realized that this is what I want to do with my occupational therapy practice, and decided to create my own business.