White Swan students engineer wheelchair device for classmate

WHITE SWAN -- It's not too big, just a few inches. But it makes a world of difference for Shane Carey.

The 15-year-old, soon-to-be sophomore has cerebral palsy. And while he's aware of his surroundings, he can't walk or talk, making it difficult to interact with teachers and fellow students.

But a new mechanical device built by his fellow students now allows Shane to take his computer anywhere he goes in his wheelchair.

The metal contraption fits near the foot of the wheelchair, supporting an arm that holds his computer in front of him. Shane uses his computer to communicate.

Without the gadget, his computer -- which used to require set-up and tear-down in between classrooms -- could only be used inside classrooms.

Now, it can be used in hallways. And courtyards. At lunch. Anywhere on campus.

"It broke a lot of barriers," says Rob Ford, who worked with Shane last year as a special education teacher's aide.

Now he teaches engineering at White Swan High School, in its first year of Project Lead the Way, which aims to strengthen students' performance in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM.

The goal of his introductory engineering course is to give students hands-on experience. It's funded mostly through federal grants from GEAR UP, formally known as Gaining Early Awareness and Education for Undergraduate Programs.

Ford saw Shane's dilemma as a real-world design and welding experience for his engineering students.

"It's hard to get specialized parts for wheelchairs, and they cost, like, thousands of dollars," he says.

The device needed to be able to swivel 360 degrees and be removed quickly in case of emergencies, such as a tip-over.

Students brainstormed the problem, took measurements, made drawings and generated computer images, designing every aspect of the gadget.

"We measured and measured and remeasured again," says 18-year-old senior Ben Heintzman. "We wanted to get it right.

"My reward was seeing that it actually works," he says. "I did it to help a fellow student. I don't like to see a fellow student struggling through classes. Shane couldn't really participate in class. He would be there, but he really couldn't participate."

Senior Kyle Dorais took on the welding. The 18-year-old has known Shane for about eight years.

"We didn't want too much weight on the front of the chair," he says. "We wanted it to be lightweight, but we also wanted it to hold the computer."

Dorais was one of 15 engineering students -- out of 29 from two different classes -- to earn 10 extra credit points for their work on the project.

"It makes me feel good because I actually made something useful," he says.

"It feels like we accomplished something huge," agrees Alvaro Gonzales, 16. He's known Shane "since, like, eighth grade" and says, "It's nice hearing his laugh."

Ford as well as Shane's one-on-one school assistant, Esmeralda Campos, say they see more students approaching Shane outside of class now that he can take his custom computer with him everywhere he goes.

And, "It opened up a lot of communication gaps," says Ford, whose engineering students are already working on their next project: designing and building a self-contained, completely portable, solar-and-wind-powered ticket booth.