Exploring why powered mobility experiences can accelerate overall development in infants aged 3-12 months : (oral presentation 30 min)
Nilsson, Lisbeth LU
(2025)
Oceania Seating Symposium
- Abstract
- Dr Lisbeth Nilsson
Learning objectives:
1. Discover how and why technology can enable non-mobile infants and children in developing tool-use and participation with the world.
2. Explain how and why experiences of self-produced movement in a powered device can impact on very young infants’ overall development
3. Motivate provision of opportunities to explore and experience powered mobility to very young infants and toddlers with disabilities.
Session description:
Infants, with typical or delayed development or disabilities, are dependent on others to access opportunities for experiences and participation in enriched physical and social environments. Provision of tests in a joystick-operated powered mobility device... (More) - Dr Lisbeth Nilsson
Learning objectives:
1. Discover how and why technology can enable non-mobile infants and children in developing tool-use and participation with the world.
2. Explain how and why experiences of self-produced movement in a powered device can impact on very young infants’ overall development
3. Motivate provision of opportunities to explore and experience powered mobility to very young infants and toddlers with disabilities.
Session description:
Infants, with typical or delayed development or disabilities, are dependent on others to access opportunities for experiences and participation in enriched physical and social environments. Provision of tests in a joystick-operated powered mobility device can give such opportunities before the age when infants develop physical abilities to move around on their own.
The aims are to explore and explain why very young infants who got the opportunity to explore a joystick-operated powered wheelchair, and thereby experienced self-produced mobility, showed accelerated overall development.
The Driving to Learn research collected video-data of typically developing infants aged 3-12 months testing a joystick-operated powered wheelchair. Thirty-five hours of video was collected from 40 tests with 17 infants, doing one test/month (1-6 tests), with a “driving”-period of 15-32 minutes. Reanalysis of observed tool-use behaviours were compared to existing research on infant development.
The infants, as early as at age 3-4 months, showed understanding of cause effect – acts on joystick made the powered wheelchair move. The unpredicted movements caused surprise and alerting, exited exploration using hand/s to touch and grasp the joystick in an exploratory way. The multisensory experience resulting from acting and moving around increased attention, perception, motor control; nurtured understanding of relationships, predictive behaviour, a growing sense of self and agency.
Technology can enable infants in exploring and experiencing the world in an upright position, at the time when head stability allows for seating and movement in a powered device. A centre-mounted joystick is magic being stuck and still movable by using gross motor actions. The findings emphasize the importance of providing very young infants, toddlers and children with disabilities opportunities to explore powered mobility. Exploring and becoming in control of moving around is empowering by opening new opportunities for participation and allowing enriched experiences that can accelerate overall development.
Content references:
1. Nilsson, L. and P. Nyberg (1998). Training in powered wheelchair, benefits for individuals at an early developmental level. Poster presentation. The 12th International Congress of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Montreal, Canada
2. Nilsson, L. (2007). Driving to Learn: the process of growing consciousness of tool use: a grounded theory of de-plateauing (Publication Number 2007:34) [Doctoral dissertation, Lund University]. Lund, Sweden https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.15543.60327
3. Kenyon, L. and L. Nilsson (2021). Early tool-use learning: Using Powered Mobility to Enhance Development. 33rd Annual EACD Meeting: European Academy of Childhood Disability. Virtual conference
4. Nilsson, L. (2019). Powered mobility for people with profound cognitive disabilities leads to developing occupational performance. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 82(11) 655–657, https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022619839617
5. Schwartzer, G. and Jovanovic, B. (2024). Infants’ predictive minds: The role of motor experiences. Child Development Perspectives, 18:123-128 https://doi.org/1111/cdep.12506
Presenter biography:
Lisbeth Nilsson is a PhD, Occupational Therapist and specialist, associated to Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Sweden. She developed the Driving to Learn intervention for people with profound cognitive disabilities (1996-2007). She and Josephine Durkin, UK, collaborated on developing the Assessment of Powered mobility use (ALP) (2009-2016). Her special interests are how infants, children and adults with cognitive disabilities learn how to use a variety of tools, and how to assess and facilitate the learning process. Her current focus is explaining how to apply the universal ALP tool for assessment and facilitation of learning in a variety of tool-use interventions. Her ongoing research collaborations nationally and internationally involves OTs, PTs and other rehabilitation professionals. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/194a7c82-9cab-4df8-b69e-d698dadc7e42
- author
- Nilsson, Lisbeth
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-11-06
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- infant development, powered mobility, before time intervention
- conference name
- Oceania Seating Symposium
- conference location
- Rotorua, New Zealand
- conference dates
- 2025-11-04 - 2025-11-06
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 194a7c82-9cab-4df8-b69e-d698dadc7e42
- alternative location
- https://oceaniaseatingsymposium.com/assets/sm/upload/h0/b3/gl/gv/Master%20Abstract%20OSS2025.pdf
- date added to LUP
- 2025-11-25 10:13:53
- date last changed
- 2025-11-25 13:17:41
@misc{194a7c82-9cab-4df8-b69e-d698dadc7e42,
abstract = {{Dr Lisbeth Nilsson<br/>Learning objectives:<br/>1. Discover how and why technology can enable non-mobile infants and children in developing tool-use and participation with the world.<br/>2. Explain how and why experiences of self-produced movement in a powered device can impact on very young infants’ overall development<br/>3. Motivate provision of opportunities to explore and experience powered mobility to very young infants and toddlers with disabilities.<br/>Session description:<br/>Infants, with typical or delayed development or disabilities, are dependent on others to access opportunities for experiences and participation in enriched physical and social environments. Provision of tests in a joystick-operated powered mobility device can give such opportunities before the age when infants develop physical abilities to move around on their own.<br/>The aims are to explore and explain why very young infants who got the opportunity to explore a joystick-operated powered wheelchair, and thereby experienced self-produced mobility, showed accelerated overall development.<br/>The Driving to Learn research collected video-data of typically developing infants aged 3-12 months testing a joystick-operated powered wheelchair. Thirty-five hours of video was collected from 40 tests with 17 infants, doing one test/month (1-6 tests), with a “driving”-period of 15-32 minutes. Reanalysis of observed tool-use behaviours were compared to existing research on infant development.<br/>The infants, as early as at age 3-4 months, showed understanding of cause effect – acts on joystick made the powered wheelchair move. The unpredicted movements caused surprise and alerting, exited exploration using hand/s to touch and grasp the joystick in an exploratory way. The multisensory experience resulting from acting and moving around increased attention, perception, motor control; nurtured understanding of relationships, predictive behaviour, a growing sense of self and agency.<br/>Technology can enable infants in exploring and experiencing the world in an upright position, at the time when head stability allows for seating and movement in a powered device. A centre-mounted joystick is magic being stuck and still movable by using gross motor actions. The findings emphasize the importance of providing very young infants, toddlers and children with disabilities opportunities to explore powered mobility. Exploring and becoming in control of moving around is empowering by opening new opportunities for participation and allowing enriched experiences that can accelerate overall development.<br/>Content references:<br/>1. Nilsson, L. and P. Nyberg (1998). Training in powered wheelchair, benefits for individuals at an early developmental level. Poster presentation. The 12th International Congress of the World Federation of Occupational Therapists, Montreal, Canada<br/>2. Nilsson, L. (2007). Driving to Learn: the process of growing consciousness of tool use: a grounded theory of de-plateauing (Publication Number 2007:34) [Doctoral dissertation, Lund University]. Lund, Sweden https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.15543.60327<br/>3. Kenyon, L. and L. Nilsson (2021). Early tool-use learning: Using Powered Mobility to Enhance Development. 33rd Annual EACD Meeting: European Academy of Childhood Disability. Virtual conference<br/>4. Nilsson, L. (2019). Powered mobility for people with profound cognitive disabilities leads to developing occupational performance. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 82(11) 655–657, https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022619839617<br/>5. Schwartzer, G. and Jovanovic, B. (2024). Infants’ predictive minds: The role of motor experiences. Child Development Perspectives, 18:123-128 https://doi.org/1111/cdep.12506<br/>Presenter biography:<br/>Lisbeth Nilsson is a PhD, Occupational Therapist and specialist, associated to Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Sweden. She developed the Driving to Learn intervention for people with profound cognitive disabilities (1996-2007). She and Josephine Durkin, UK, collaborated on developing the Assessment of Powered mobility use (ALP) (2009-2016). Her special interests are how infants, children and adults with cognitive disabilities learn how to use a variety of tools, and how to assess and facilitate the learning process. Her current focus is explaining how to apply the universal ALP tool for assessment and facilitation of learning in a variety of tool-use interventions. Her ongoing research collaborations nationally and internationally involves OTs, PTs and other rehabilitation professionals.}},
author = {{Nilsson, Lisbeth}},
keywords = {{infant development; powered mobility; before time intervention}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
title = {{Exploring why powered mobility experiences can accelerate overall development in infants aged 3-12 months : (oral presentation 30 min)}},
url = {{https://oceaniaseatingsymposium.com/assets/sm/upload/h0/b3/gl/gv/Master%20Abstract%20OSS2025.pdf}},
year = {{2025}},
}