PROPOSAL OF TESTS FOR EVALUATION OF LOCOMOTION SKILLS IN WHEELCHAIR USERS

Our objective was to propose a battery of tests for the evaluation of skills in wheelchair users. The proposed circuit involves seven different skill types, which must be performed with the best possible fit of the users' manual wheelchairs. The evaluator will receive a score at the beginning of each skill (2.0) and in the course of his or her course will be added or removed from his score if he gets a performance failure or even a good performance (0.2 points per error). The maximum allowed score is 15.4 points. After battery creation, three wheelchair users (quadriplegia, poliomyelitis and cerebral palsy) were tested to verify the applicability of the proposal. It was observed that the final scores reached after the circuit followed the limitation level of the subjects (tetraplegia = 13.6, poliomyelitis = 14.2, and cerebral palsy = 6.49 points). It is concluded that the proposal tested was well accepted by the evaluated ones reflecting the experiences of their daily life.