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Transport enables individuals and families to participate in community life and it’s especially important that all children, including those with disabilities and medical conditions, travel in the safest way possible.

As Lisa explains in the video, new research (awaiting publication) shows that many Australian children with disabilities and medical conditions are not travelling safely in motor vehicles. In addition, over two-thirds of parents report never receiving information about how to safely transport their child.

Welcome to this foundational course about safe vehicle travel for children with disabilities and medical conditions.

This course will develop your practice and leadership in assessing, prescribing and supporting families to better meet the vehicle safety and comfort needs of children with disabilities and medical conditions (under 16 years).

What will you be learning?

In the video Lisa introduced us to the big question we’ll be looking at in this course: ‘How can you support the motor vehicle transport needs of children with disabilities and medical conditions through evidence-based practice?’

To answer this, we’ll explore a range of topics including:

• children’s vulnerability as road users
• road safety principles and approaches
• vehicle standards and road rules
• leading role of allied health professionals
• vehicle restraint products and devices
• Australian and overseas standards
• best practice prescribing approaches and tools
• common transport challenges
• scope of practice and restrictive practice
• importance of good documentation.

Throughout this course, we’ll hear from a wide range of experts from the research, child restraint, road safety, and health fields. We’ll also meet the team who developed this course and find out why they established Mobility and Accessibility for Children in Australia Ltd (MACA).

Your learning outcomes

By completing this course, you should be able to:

• engage with the latest research in the field of safe motor vehicle transport for children with disabilities and medical conditions
• develop relevant knowledge and understanding to strengthen your practice and leadership in this area
• apply an evidence-based approach to assessing and prescribing for the vehicle transport needs of children with disabilities and medical conditions
• identify strategies to embed motor vehicle transport planning in day-to-day practice.

You’ll also receive a copy of the MACA Guide, a best practice prescribing tool.

This course has been developed by MACA, a not-for-profit organisation advancing research, knowledge and learning about safe and accessible transport for children with disabilities and medical conditions. This new evidence-driven approach is giving allied health professionals the opportunity to play a leading role in improving transport arrangements for children and their families.

Meet the team

Your lead educators for this course are Lisa Vale, Principal Occupational Therapist at MACA, MACA Chief Executive Helen Lindner and MACA Director Emma Clarkson.

A note about this course

This course has been developed using the latest research and participants will benefit from the complementary tools, resources, and information available at macahub.org.

As the course is self-paced, you choose how long you take to complete it. Importantly, you have ongoing and unlimited access to the course content, even after completion.

Upon successful completion of this course, participants receive a certificate and a copy of the MACA Guide, a best practice prescribing tool.

Throughout this course, where appropriate, ‘children with disabilities and medical conditions’ will be referred to as ‘children’.

Your Task

Take a moment to get to know one another by telling us a little about yourself in the comments. For example, you could describe:

• your location, professional background, and practice setting
• your motivation for participating in this course and what you hope to get out of it.