Wheelchair Manufacturers Tailoring Products to Customers’ Lifestyles

The number of disabled people who use recreational areas has increased significantly, said Joy Aroff, founder of Project Support, a national organization based in Brentwood that assists people with spinal cord injuries. The trend, experts say, is due in part to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which mandated equal access to jobs, transportation and public facilities.

Many who work with the physically disabled say wheelchair-makers are altering their approach to meet the demand for more versatile equipment from the country’s estimated 1.5 million wheelchair users.

“There is more equipment available that is lighter and more mobile,” said Ingrid Cleffi, a recreational therapist and founder of Adaptive Sports and Recreation in Simi Valley. “They are building chairs around the person and not trying to shove the person into the chair.”

Wheel Ring, a Connecticut wheelchair manufacturer, created the All Terrain Chair about two years ago after witnessing explosive sales in the mountain bike industry, said company founder Patrick Summers. The company, made up of a group of engineers, has been focusing on specialty wheelchairs since 1984.

“We noticed that there was no real wheelchair that could be used outside--especially in the Northeast, where many disabled (people) can’t go out in the snow or even to the beach,” Summers said.

He said about 300 chairs have been sold since 1992, most of them in the $2,500 to $2,999 range. Wheel Ring has also used camouflage upholstery for its many clients who like to hunt and fish. And last year the company shipped a dozen neon pink and yellow chairs to a Japanese medical equipment importer.