3-year-old gets wheels thanks to teen's robotics project
While she waits for a wheelchair, young Miley can learn the freedom of independent movement thanks to a 17-year-old student of robotics and engineering at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg, Vermont.
HINESBURG - Miley Brochu can't walk but on Monday she raced in a Power Wheels toy car modified by a Champlain Valley Union High School student.
Just before her fourth birthday Miley was being fitted for her new mobile device at CVU's robotics lab. She zoomed across a practice room floor and spun around, letting out a shout of surprise before clapping her hands over her mouth.
"Very rarely are we doing work in school where it's for somebody else, for a greater cause," CVU robotics and engineering teacher Olaf Verdonk said regarding student Willem Hillier's project.
Hillier, 17, turned a Power Wheels Wild Thing toy into a device that allows Miley to have some of the independence typical of kids her age.
"It was really fun and challenging — but fun," Hillier said describing how over the course of three months he crafted parts on a 3D printer, replaced electronics and rewrote computer code to convert the joystick. The vehicle's steering was a two-handed operation; now Miley can operate it using one hand.
Independent mobility is important for Miley's continuing development, according to physical therapist Tamra Yandow and occupational therapist Deborah Sharpe.
The two are members of the University of Vermont's Center for Disability and Inclusion's I-Team in theCollege of Education and Social Services. The team consults and collaborates with school districts on cases like Miley's across Vermont.
"For kids who are unable to otherwise walk — if you give them the power to independently move, their other motor skills increase; their social skills increase; their verbal and language skills increase," Yandow said.
"She's a shaken baby survivor," Lynn Brochu, Miley's adopted mother, said. She added that Miley is on par with other kids developmentally; and despite her inability to walk she's is a bright girl with a future that isn't "mapped."
Miley's impaired motor skills are due to head injuries she suffered as a child, according to Brochu and the UVM team. Now, she lives in the Northeast Kingdom with two older brothers and parents, Phil and Lynn Brochu.
Brochu described her family as innovators and bridge builders, trying to problem solve for Miley's needs while keeping costs down.
"Guaranteed she’s worth every penny, but boots only last a year," Brochu said explaining that boots made to fit over Miley's braces cost $80 but a family member with an industrial sewing machine modified $5 boots purchased at a Walmart.
Hillier's modified motor car will last, according to Sharpe, until Miley gets a wheelchair. That could be well over six months away. In the meantime, Miley can learn how to drive using her joystick, which will enable her to better use the wheelchair when it comes.
The timing is part of the plan Miley's special education teachers at the Central Orleans Family Education Center in Barton formed with her UVM team early in the school year.
The UVM team had the Wild Thing project in mind even before they met Miley, but they thought she was a good match. Then they found Hillier.
"He absolutely went above and beyond to altering the joystick operation, installing a better battery, and creating specialized seating for her," Sharpe wrote in an email.
"I do a lot of really high tech stuff here at CVU that’s about engineering and around design thinking. And the big piece this project tied in was empathy," Verdonk said.
Contact Nicole Higgins DeSmet at firstname.lastname@example.org or 802-660-1845. Follow her on Twitter @NicoleHDeSmet.