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HPU Doctor of Occupational Therapy students at the third annual GoBabyGo event held at HPU's Graduate College of Health Sciences laboratory.
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A child gets ready to press the activation switch on the car to drive around the laboratory floor.
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The new 3D-printed activation switch (left), designed by HPU engineering students, next to the commercially purchased switch used the previous year.
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HPU Doctor of Occupational Therapy students worked with families to customize each ride-on car.
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Doctor of Occupational Therapy students and faculty work to customize the ride-on cars.
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A child getting ready to take off and explore the laboratory floor on her new ride-on car.
On Oct. 2, six families gathered with their keiki at HPU's Graduate College of Health Sciences laboratory, where students in occupational therapy customized ride-on cars for children with special needs.
For the third annual "GoBabyGo" event, HPU engineering students assembled and adapted the electric ride-on cars and designed and 3D-printed the activation switches, replacing the commercially purchased switches the previous last year.
A child getting ready to drive his customized ride-on car. Standing behind the car is Jana Cason and kneeling with the child (left) is Patricia Coker-Bolt.
For many of the children, pressing the red switch for the first time and feeling the car accelerate was a powerful moment, their faces lighting up with smiles as they experienced the movement of the cars. Around the laboratory floor, children and families interacted with one another and with the occupational therapy students, the kind of connections that began to form over an afternoon of building and test-driving.
HPU Professor of Occupational Therapy-Honolulu Patricia Coker-Bolt, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA coordinated the event with HPU Professor of Occupational Therapy-Honolulu and Director of Scholarship Jana Cason, DHSc, OTR/L, FNAP, FATA, FAOTA. HPU Assistant Professor of Engineering Tricia Young, Ph.D., and her engineering students assembled and adapted the cars' wiring so that each car suited the child who would take it home.
The interprofessional event gives participating children an opportunity to experience greater independent mobility through specially adapted ride-on cars. It also gives HPU students hands-on experience designing assistive technology in collaboration with children and their families.
Events like this show what students from different programs can accomplish when they build something together for a family in their own community.
GoBabyGo is a community-based program founded by University of Delaware Professor Cole Galloway. It adapts toy ride-on cars to help young children with special needs develop early mobility skills, supporting their opportunities for exploration, play, and social interaction.
HPU's Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Honolulu program is Hawai‘i's only occupational therapy doctoral program. Students train in downtown Honolulu through hands-on coursework, immersive labs, and clinical experiences designed to prepare them to address the needs of individuals and communities.
The event is part of the OTD program's immersive lab for the Assistive & Complex Rehab Technology course.
Read about last year's GoBabyGo event and learn more about HPU's Doctor of Occupational Therapy program.
