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Kings program now offers customized cars at no cost

Stella Sutton, 6, drives a customized toy Jeep at King’s College.
Aimee Dilger
/
WVIA News
Stella Sutton, 6, drives a customized toy Jeep at King’s College.

Stella Sutton's mom needs steel-toed boots after Saturday.

"The cackling that goes with the almost running you over, it's the enjoyment of it," said Lindsey Sutton.

Stella, 6, has multiple diagnoses including cerebral palsy and a rare genetic disease that both impact how her body moves.

On Saturday, she picked up a custom set of wheels to help her with mobility — a pink Jeep.

Stella's roofless Jeep with a back cross bar of lights was the first car converted by the Northeastern Pennsylvania chapter of Go Baby Go. The nationwide initiative modifies battery-powered toy vehicles for children with disabilities.

"Being able to see her just go out and play and be able to have fun with kids her own age and us to be kind of hands off ... and not have to be right on top of everything she's doing, it’s really really nice," said Sutton, her mom.

Stella zoomed around the third floor of the Sheehy-Farmer Campus Center with a huge smile on her face, chasing after volunteers and learning how to park and maneuver the Jeep.

She said she was enjoying running people over.

During her sophomore year, Erika Golik watched a video about Go Baby Go in Jennifer Dessoye’s class. Golik created the chapter at Kings as her doctoral capstone project.

"This is a very underserved area," Golik said surrounded by the rev of toy cars and tools customizing the vehicles. "I thought it was important to bring this chapter here so that we can give kids with mobility limitations, the power to independently explore their environments."

Children with a lack of mobility often lose out on social interaction with their peers, said Dessoye, Ed.D., the chair of Kings' occupational therapy department.

"That's how they initially learn their environment, how to form friendships by playing," she said.

Sutton agrees that there is a lack of programming and adaptive equipment in the area for children with special needs. In her Jeep, Stella can now play with her brother and race on a local track.

"She gets to have this level of independence that we didn't know was going to be possible," Sutton said. "But it also gives her a sense of control over her life."

NEPA Go Baby Go is a multi-disciplinary project for Kings students.

During the kick off, engineering students worked on eight cars. They stripped wires to create a push button on the cars’ steering wheels.

"Kids are actually able to push the button instead of the pedal to power the car," said Golik.

Parents are given a remote control and a kill switch is included to stop the car. PVC Piping, pool noodles and foam kickboards are added to give the kids more support while they’re driving.

Each car is custom tailored.

Stella’s Jeep has a hook on the back. It’s for her backpack that carries her feeding tube.

NEPA Go Baby Go received a $20,000 grant from the Moses Taylor Foundation. The chapter is planning to modify one car per month, which are free to families. Students across multiple disciplines will work on the vehicles. The customizations cost between $250 to $500.

The college plans to host a monthly playgroup for the student drivers.

For more details, visit https://www.kings.edu/life_at_kings/activities/nepa-go-baby-go

Kat Bolus is the community reporter for the WVIA News Team. She is a former reporter and columnist at The Times-Tribune, a Scrantonian and cat mom.

You can email Kat at katbolus@wvia.org