This October community groups, students, hospitals, and professionals came together to highlight innovative ways Central New York promotes inclusive fitness & recreation, and to encourage collaboration between stakeholders. Organized by SUNY Upstate professor of pediatrics and director of the Spina Bifida Clinic Nienke Dosa, PhD, SUNY Upstate hosted a workshop where students and community groups could learn about innovative strategies to support children and adults with mobility issues.

SUNY Upstate medical students Celine Hardy, Sydney Lim, Margarita Vazquez Almonte work on building low-cost adaptive equipment for children for ARISE CNY.

ARISE CNY demonstrated one example of their work using adaptive design to provide low-cost medical devices. SUNY Upstate medical students from the Upstate Art Alliance were building adaptive standing devices out of cardboard; they allow wheelchair users to be upright on their own which can be beneficial for bone density, circulation, and completing therapy, among other uses. These ones in particular are being built for children, which is a common request for these devices.

“We get a lot of requests for kids for the equipment we make,” says Connor McGough, the Program Coordinator for ARISE Adaptive Design. Standing medical devices can cost over $10,000, while these devices can be built quickly and cheaply to meet a need.  “We’re just trying to fill a void where they may not have insurance coverage, or they may not cover the whole amount and it’s out of the family’s means financially, or it’s a unique need they may not be able to find elsewhere.”

McGough and his team from ARISE demonstrated how standers can be built along with other equipment that gives children, in particular, the ability to increase their mobility; like their modified “Wild Thing” Power Wheels vehicles that allow children of different abilities to be able to ride. 

“We don't want those kids with mobility issues to not be able to get in trouble like a regular kid, explains McGough.  “That’s the fun of being a kid.”

SUNY Upstate & Henninger High School STEM students had the opportunity to work James “Cole” Galloway, PhD building motorized adaptive devices for children with mobility issues. Galloway is a professor at the University of Delaware who is nationally recognized for his work to advance community mobility. Kids like Robert and Brinley got to test out the devices in real-time during the workshop.

Brinley tested out equipment built by SUNY Upstate and Henninger High School STEM students as part of the 2022 Fit-In Conference.

Robert got to test out adaptive equipment built as part of the Fit-In 2022 conference.

Syracuse University design students were displaying their current project; an interactive, community-engaged map of Central New York and the Syracuse Creekwalk. Their ultimate goal is a user-generated resource highlighting assistive technology and resources available to users. 

To demonstrate how their project may work, they focused on the Syracuse Creekwalk; demonstrating how engaging people digitally could get them out into the community. It allows the user to virtually walk through the Syracuse path, letting them prepare for what they may encounter in the real world.

“That initial step people may not be confident in taking, so if we can have a way to understand the space prior to going, that could potentially expand a lot of the community for different people,” says SU student Kai Patricio.

The Fitness Inclusion Network (Fit IN) is a cross-institutional collaboration in Central New York and beyond committed to expanding access and furthering conversations on inclusion in outdoor recreation, team sports, mindful movement, and personal fitness for people of all ability levels. Click here to learn more about their programs.