V-LINC - Providing Independence through Technology -

What I Wish for My Child is a campaign held each spring to grant the wishes of families with children with disabilities through engineering and invention. Families are paired with a volunteer engineer who will design and build a unique device to allow a child with a disability to do something they couldn’t do before. A wish could be anything from “I wish my daughter could ride a bike by herself” to “I wish my son could wash his own hair.” Each year, V-LINC chooses several families to receive a custom solution that enables a child to do something he or she couldn’t do before. Our volunteers really enjoy co-designing solutions for these special children. Read more.

Our 2011 What I Wish for my Child Project Winners

1.  Nine-year-old Matthew is  a young man with autism. He is very sensitive to loud noises and bright lights around him and prefers the quiet. Noises, dishes banging and dogs barking, can’t be avoided but make him anxious and cause eloping, self-injury, injury to others, aggression, and overall feelings of fear. His mom wants V-LINC to create a safe, quite place for him where he can feel safe.

2.  Eryn is a twelve-years-old with a birth defect that affects her arms and hands. She has clubbed hands, 4 fingers on each hand and one arm is shorter than the other.  She has had several operations to lengthen one arm but dressing is still challenging and she needs assistance.

V-LINC engineering volunteers will design and create an adjustable, easy-to-use way for her to get dressed privately and with little or no assistance. Eryn’s mom wrote:  “The ideal dressing device would be height adjustable and be able to be moved easily. Eryn has a great spirit and is truly motivated!  I believe if she is able to take care of her dressing needs by herself; her confidence level would sky rocket!” 
3.  Lauren is a nine-year-old young lady who is deaf has cerebral palsy. She isn’t able to support herself on swings at a nearby park that she and her mother frequent, so V-LINC volunteers will create a swing system with supports for her so she can enjoy swinging and being with other children.

4.  Fifteen-year-old Hanna is restricted to a wheelchair for mobility at all times due to her disabilities. She has cerebral palsy, Hydrocephalus, is blind and uses a feeding tube. When her family travels on vacation her transport chair is unable to fit in most vehicles. V-LINC volunteers will design a collapsing transport wheelchair that fits in a small car trunk to make travel easier for Hanna and her family.

5.  Tommy is an eleven-year-old young man with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair. Last year, V-LINC volunteer engineers created a dressing assist for Sammy.  Tommy’s mom wrote that she “heard about the device on the Fox45 morning news” and wants V-LINC to design a system that will help him get dressed in the morning. At 11, it is important to Tommy to be able to dress independently and to have some privacy.

6.  Jacob is a seven-year-old boy with cerebral palsy.  He wants to go bike riding with his cousins but can only sit and watch. V-LINC will create for him a supportive and safe bicycle so he can have fun and ride with family and friends.

*Three additional requests are still pending a home visit before a final determination on whether these may be projects that V-LINC volunteers can address.