Dr. Dawn M. Pickering created his vibrant illustrated storybook as part of her study to explore the wellbeing of individuals with complex disabilities. This storybook isn't just research—it's a powerful tool that lets participants share their unique stories and amplifies voices that often go unheard.
The original study was funded by the Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists (APCP), in 2022. This study observed ten children, aged four to eighteen, with complex disabilities using the Innowalk PRO at a special school in Wales.
The study aimed to gather evidence of the participants’ well-being when using the Innowalk Pro to increase their physical activity levels. The three observations of each participant were mapped onto a new well-being scale (WEBS). The domains of this well-being scale include calmness, comfort, creativity, energy, engagement, and joy. This research utilised the Innowalk Pro to observe well-being indicators in the children’s responses through a case study design. Ten cases were made up from observational field notes, diaries and interviews with children and their parents. Three themes were identified:
- well-being: mood and achievements
- participation: anticipation and tolerance
- physical effects: improved self-regulation of sleep, bowel and muscle tone
Overall, the Well-being (WEBS) study demonstrated that the Innowalk Pro has positive effects on well-being. It is comfortable to use, promotes observable calmness, encourages creativity, and facilitates engagement with people or activities, provided that the children have sufficient energy to participate.
You can read the full study report here.
WHAT IS THE INNOWALK PRO?
The Innowalk Pro is a unique, adjustable solution that enables people with moderate to profound physical disabilities to access movement and physical activity. It provides safe, guided, repetitive movement, close to normal gait, by supporting the body in an upright position with wright bearing.
The equipment can be used in a special school setting, rehabilitation centers and therapy clinics.
Learn more about the Innowalk Pro.
The storybook "My Adventures in the Innowalk" presents the research data in a format that children and young people can understand, and is a way of sharing the stories of the ten participants. The children and young people’s own words are placed in “italics”. They chose a different name to protect their identity, their ages stated were at the point of data collection.
Whilst a small number of books are printed for the participant’s benefit, this illustrated storybook can be downloaded here.
The production of this storybook was made possible by the support of the Baily Thomas Charitable Trust in 2023. The images were created by Alison Howard Illustration. To support the children who could not read, an audio version of this book was recorded.
Read more: Innowalk Pro - physical activity in a special needs school
You can also download the poster of the study presented at the EACD 2023 in Ljubljana, Slovenia here.
For more information on this work please contact:
Dr Dawn M Pickering, Former Reader in Childhood Disability, Cardiff University’s School of Healthcare Sciences
Thank you Dr Dawn M Pickering for letting us share your great work with our audience. 
