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Meet the teaching team and start exploring the motor vehicle transport needs of children with disabilities and medical conditions.
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Transport is essential for children and families to be able to participate in community life. And all children have the right to travel in the safest way possible. However, recent research shows that many Australian children with disabilities and medical conditions are not traveling safely in motor vehicles, and many parents report never receiving information about how to safely transport their child. As an allied health professional, you play a leading role in assessing and prescribing for children’s vehicle transport needs, and I’m so glad you’re here to enjoy this learning journey. I’m Lisa Vale, Principal OT at the not-for-profit organization Mobility and Accessibility for Children in Australia, or MACA as we are known.
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I’ve been an OT for over 30 years and know firsthand the challenges of allied health professionals working in this area. I’m delighted that you’ve joined me to learn about safe vehicle travel for children with disabilities and medical conditions and to develop your confidence and leadership in this area. At MACA, we’re dedicated to advancing the rights of children with disabilities and medical conditions to safe and accessible transport by leading research and knowledge and supporting your practice. I’m excited to share some of this latest research, which is influencing changes to policy, products and standards, and driving a new evidence-informed approach to the safe transport of children with disabilities and medical conditions in motor vehicles.
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The aim of this course is to tackle the big question, “How can you support the motor vehicle transport needs of children with disabilities and medical conditions through evidence-based practice?” I hope that you’re able to take the information and tools that we introduce and implement them into your professional practice. Our course educators bring their research and expertise and you, as learners, bring your diverse life, work, and study experience to the course. We’ll also hear from experts in the fields of road safety, child restraints, research and health. And it’s these elements in combination that create the opportunity for developing your knowledge and skills. This is also an opportunity for you to meet and engage with new colleagues.
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Throughout the course, you’re invited to participate in discussions and tasks, reinforcing your learning. So please join this community of practice and connect with and learn from others. I welcome you to be part of our learning community, and to join with us to advance the rights of children with disabilities and medical conditions to safe and accessible transport. See you in the next video.

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.
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Transporting Children with Disabilities and Medical Conditions

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