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To determine the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of the Powered Mobility Program (PMP) and the Israel Ministry of Health Powered Mobility Proficiency Test (PM-PT); to test inter-rater reliability of the Assessment of Learning Powered Mobility (ALP) tool; to determine the convergent validity of these measures for children with physical disabilities.Participants included 30 children (mean 10 years, 6 months [SD 3 years, 7 months]; range: 6-18 years) with cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular disorders. Participants were non-proficient powered wheelchair drivers. Two blinded raters assessed the driving ability by viewing videos of the participants twice as they drove a pre-designed route at ALYN Hospital, Israel. They were assessedThe PMP intra-rater reliability revealed ICCsThe PMP and PM-PT intra and interrater reliability were good to excellent, the ALP inter-rater reliability was good and the convergent validity between all three measures was good to excellent.Implications for rehabilitationThere is evidence of validity and reliability for three tests of powered wheelchair proficiency (PMP, PM-PT and ALP).Children using powered mobility, aged 6-18 years, now have outcome measures with empirical evidence that was previously lacking.When time for assessment is limited, the shorter PM-PT can be used instead of the more comprehensive PMP.

To compare children's driving abilities in a physical and virtual environment and to validate the McGill Immersive Wheelchair Simulator (MiWe-C) for the use of children with disabilities.Participants included 30 children (17 males, 13 females; mean age 14 y 1 mo, [SD 3 y 6 mo]; range: 5-18 y) with cerebral palsy, neuromuscular disease and spinal cord injury. All children were proficient drivers with more than 3 months' experience, who had their own powered wheelchairs. Participants drove a 15-minute physical route and high-fidelity simulation of that route in a counterbalanced order. Performance of the two routes was compared using the 32 item Powered Mobility Programme (PMP). Differences between the driving modes were analyzed with the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Significance was set at α = 0.05.The scores for the total PMP score as rated during both simulator wheelchair driving and during physical driving were very high (Having a validated powered mobility simulator for children provides a viable option for an additional practice mode. The MiWe-C simulator is affordable and a user-friendly simulator that can be used anywhere including at home and in school. Children can be independent when practicing even if they are not yet proficient drivers since continual adult assistance is not needed.Implications for rehabilitationHaving a validated powered mobility simulator for children provides a viable option for an additional practice mode.The MiWe-C is now validated to be used with children 5-18 years with physical disabilities.The MiWe-C is one of the few options for children to practice outside of a research environment.