Chapter 8 Tight Spaces and Doors

The ability to maneuver around obstacles is vital for effective travel. This applies to navigating doors, offices, stores, restaurants, sidewalks, curbs, lifts, buses, and trains. The skill to navigate tight spaces is one of the most under taught skills. Students need to practice until it comes naturally. Students may master navigating tight spaces indoors, but then struggle outdoors where it is more difficult to focus on the skill. Loud, crowded environments and being near drop-offs or heavy traffic may diminish the student’s skill level.

Wheelchairs

To start, the student should drive straight between two chairs, turn around, and drive back through the chairs. Practice this repeatedly as needed. If the student uses a cane, she can clear the opening and then leave the cane against one side of the opening as she drives through. After she establishes that the opening is wide enough and checks the distance between the wheelchair and the cane, the student knows she will not bump the opposite side.

Watch video TSD8a: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating tight spaces forward: Electric wheelchair.

After the student masters driving straight through the chairs, she should learn to drive through them backward. As the wheelchair switches from moving forward to backing up, the line of travel may adjust slightly. Backing straight is easier after a turn than it is after moving forward because the caster wheels cause the wheelchair to turn as they spin around.

Watch video TSD8b: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating tight spaces backward: Electric wheelchair.

Many students find it difficult to adjust when they are not lined-up perfectly to travel backward through an opening. If too close to one side of the opening, students get confused about which way to turn to move to the center of the opening. When backing up, if the student needs to move to the left, the wheelchair needs to turn to the right. With wheelchairs, students seem to understand prompts to move their feet in a particular direction. If the student uses a scooter and is too far to the right, she needs to turn the handlebars to the left.

For turns, the student uses landmarks on the wheelchair or on her body to tell her that she is in position to make a turn that will line her up to go through the opening. Landmarks are different depending on the type of turn used. Exact landmarks depend on the type of mobility device in use.

Landmarks should be established for both the near and the far side of the opening. The landmark for backing through an opening may be different from the one established for moving forward through the opening.

To determine a landmark for the near side of an opening, the shoulders or head is a good place to start. The instructor places two straight chairs 36 inches apart. Have the student approach the straight chairs from the side. Tell the student, “When your shoulder is even with the near side of the opening, turn.” If the student hits the straight chair on the far side, the landmark should be more forward on the wheelchair. If she hits the near side of the opening, the landmark should be farther back on the wheelchair. The perfect landmark depends on the design of the wheelchair and the distance from the wall. With the shoulder or head as the landmark, the student often needs to be at least arm’s reach from the wall. If the student has to be closer to the wall, the landmark may need to be farther back. Once the correct landmark is determined, the student should practice aligning the landmark with the side of the opening. She should repeat this procedure to locate a landmark for the far side of the opening. For the far side, the landmark is often one’s toes, feet, knees, or the joystick.

Watch video TSD8c: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating tight spaces using landmarks forward: Electric wheelchair.

People who do not have trouble negotiating forward turns can have a very difficult time doing the same thing backward. In particular, people who have never driven a car have more trouble with the concept of turning while backing through openings. When a student turns her back to an opening, it is more difficult to determine when a 90-degree turn is complete. A student who has a limited range of motion may find it difficult to reach back with the cane to determine the edge of the opening.

Watch video TSD8d: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating tight spaces using landmarks backward: Electric wheelchair.

A good exercise to improve navigation in tight spaces is to practice driving in figure 8's between the chairs. This requires the student to navigate the opening from the left and the right, it practices multiple turns in rapid succession, and it uses both the far side and near side of the opening as a landmark. Landmarks often are forgotten when the student switches from making a single turn to figure 8's. The third turn seems to be the most difficult to master. Students have a tendency to hit the obstacle or to swing wide of it. Place a sound source in the room to help the student maintain orientation as she transverses around the room.

Once the student masters the forward figure 8, have her practice backing around the chairs in a figure 8. This is a difficult skill to master. It may help to tell the student to turn her feet a particular direction instead of saying the direction the chair needs to move.

Watch video TSD8e: Tight Spaces and Doors: Practicing figures 8's: Electric wheelchair.

It is now time to put the practice drills to functional use. Have the student practice navigating through doorways.

Watch video TSD8f: Tight Spaces and Doors: Functional use: Electric wheelchair.

Scooters

As with wheelchairs, navigating tight spaces is one of the most important skills for scooter users to learn. To reduce potential damage to the scooter or nearby objects, the student should practice driving between two movable obstacles. Most experienced consumers drive with their right hand, leaving the left hand free to use the cane.

Watch video TSD8g: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating tight spaces forward: Scooter.

To prepare to navigate doorways, students should practice driving with either hand. When students back between the obstacles, they should turn the cane over in their hand and extend it behind the scooter. It is easiest to extend the arm straight down toward the floor and grasp the cane in a fist with the shaft extended behind the scooter. Often, students who normally drive with their right hand will switch to drive with the left hand while backing up, using the cane in the right hand.

Watch video TSD8h: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating tight spaces backward: Scooter.

Electric scooters need more room to turn than wheelchairs. Three-wheel scooters have tighter turning radii than four-wheel varieties. Landmarks for scooters are different from those used with wheelchairs and vary based on the type of the scooter. Students may find it easier to navigate an opening by switching the cane to the side closer to the opening and then driving with the other hand. They may also find it easier to turn left through an opening. Often new students try to initiate forward movement, and then turn the tiller after they are already moving. This makes it difficult to recreate the same turns with consistency. The student should turn the tiller to its limit before starting to move. If using the far side of the opening as a landmark, the student should align the nose of the scooter with the edge of the opening, and then turn the tiller as far as possible toward the opening. This will set the scooter up to turn through the opening without hitting either side. As the scooter turns to face the opening, the student should gradually turn the tiller back to the forward position. Otherwise, the scooter will continue to turn and clip the corner.

To use the near side of the opening as a landmark, some consumers align their shoulders or hips with the edge of the opening. For scooters with wider turning radii, students may find it easier to align their knees to the edge of the opening. Specific landmarks vary from person to person and scooter to scooter. A student—who is just learning—may need numerous attempts to determine the specific landmarks that create the desired turns. As the scooter turns, the student can leave the cane against the landmark on the cane-hand side.

Watch video TSD8i: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating tight spaces using landmarks forward: Scooter.

To back through an opening, most consumers use the far side as a landmark. Students learning this maneuver should pull up past the opening, and align the hip or shoulder with the edge of the opening. This leaves the rear tire sitting just inside the opening. Allow the student to use her hand to reach and touch the obstacle to help with alignment. She is now ready to turn the tiller toward the opening. Students may drive with either hand, but they should always extend their cane behind the chair to clear the opening. Some consumers prefer to back up with the left hand so they can squeeze the left side of the throttle control lever, and some prefer to drive with the right hand and pull back on the right side of the lever. Others prefer to use whichever side of the tiller is closer to their torso when the tiller is turned. As the scooter starts to move, the student positions the cane against the side of the opening that is closer to the cane hand; the cane stays in this position as the scooter enters the opening. As the student’s body passes through the opening, the cane is re-extended to continue clearing the path. If a student has trouble navigating the opening, reduce the speed setting on the scooter.

Watch video TSD8j: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating tight spaces using landmarks backward: Scooter.

As with the wheelchairs, driving figure 8’s provides students the opportunity to practice navigating multiple turns in quick succession and forces them to practice turns to both the left and the right. Students may have trouble with turns around the outside of obstacles; they may also struggle with the transition from turning right to turning left. They can achieve consistency by reducing the speed of the scooter. If the speed is set too high, the scooter may lurch forward a short distance before starting to turn. For the student, it will feel like the scooter is whipping around the turn. Figure 8’s should be practiced both going forward and backward through the turns.

It is now time to put the practice drills to functional use. Have the student practice navigating through doorways.

Watch video TSD8k: Tight Spaces and Doors: Functional use: Scooter.

Navigating Doors in a Manual Wheelchair

Many manual wheelchair users struggle when they navigate a spring-loaded door. It can be difficult to hold the door, propel the chair, and keep up with the cane all at the same time. The ability to navigate spring-loaded doors independently may be limited by one's strength, range of motion, motor control, or ability to use the feet to help control chair movements.

Push Doors

For wheelchair users who are unable to use their feet, push doors are often the hardest to navigate without assistance. Initially, the student should push herself to the middle of the doorway. When the door is pushed, the chair may roll backward, away from the door. The heavier the door, the harder it is to open the door without the chair rolling backward. One way to keep the chair from moving is to pull up to the door, allow the feet to contact the door, and then set the brake on the same side of the chair as the door handle. Then push open the door with both hands. Holding the door open with one hand, the student should then release the brake with the other hand and quickly reach up to grab the doorframe. Instructors should be prepared to grab the door, just in case the door closes too quickly and catches the student’s hand in between the door and the frame. For the student, the hand holding the door should be as close to the handle side of the door as possible. This gives her more leverage and makes it easier to hold the door open. The hand reaching up to the doorframe should move as fast as possible—because once the brake releases, the weight of the door will push the wheelchair backward. It is usually easier for students to grab the doorframe to pull the chair through instead of trying to push the wheel rail. As the student pulls forward, the hand on the doorframe may need to push the frame to the side to keep the chair moving straight forward. Otherwise, the weight of the door may push the front of the chair into the doorframe.

Watch video TSD8l: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in a manual chair: Push doors.

Cane users should initially hold the cane in the hand that will hold the door open, or they can fold the cane one time and hang it over their shoulder on the same side as the door hinge. Students and practiced consumers who must navigate an unfamiliar doorway should always check on the other side of the door for stairs or other obstacles. As they pull the chair through the door, they should stop before the wheels cross the threshold and stick the cane through the partially opened door to check for drop-offs. If needed, to keep the chair from rolling backward, they should apply the brake on the door side of the chair. After clearing the other side of the door with the cane, they should re-grasp the doorframe, holding the cane with that same hand. The other hand releases the brake and then pushes the door the rest of the way open. They then propel themselves the rest of the way through the doorway by pushing back with the hand on the frame and pulling with the arm holding the door open. Cane users should not push the chair past the point cleared by their canes.

Watch video TSD8m: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in a manual chair: Push doors and cane use.

If a student can use her legs to propel her chair, she can also use her legs to anchor the chair at doors, keeping it from rolling backward. If the door has a raised threshold, it may help to grab the doorframe to pull the chair over. If not, keep the cane in the hand on the handle side of the doorway and use it to clear the path as the chair navigates through the doorway.

Watch video TSD8n: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in a manual chair: Push doors with feet on floor.

Pull Doors

When navigating pull doors, whenever possible, it is best to pull up on the handle side of the door. Instruct the student to pull all the way up to the wall. When the student pulls the door handle, the wall will keep the chair from rolling forward. As the door opens, the student switches the hand holding the door to the opposite side of the door and extends the arm fully. The other arm reaches up to contact the wall in front of the chair. If needed, push the chair backward slightly, and then turn to face the door. The hand on the wall pushes the chair forward, toward the open door. The chair should not start turning toward the opening until the door is all the way open and the student’s shoulder is even with the doorframe. Often, students turn too soon and hit the doorframe on the near side. If the chair does not turn far enough to be perpendicular to the opening, the chair will hit the frame on the far side of the opening. Students who struggle with hitting the doorframe should go back and practice navigating tight spaces between two movable objects. As the chair turns toward the opening, have the student pull on the doorframe to propel the chair through the opening. The closing door may hit the back of the chair as it passes through the doorway. If it is an unfamiliar doorway, students and practiced consumers should always stop in the doorway and use their cane to check for drop-offs. If a wheelchair user can use her feet on the floor, she should keep her cane in the hand on the side away from the door and use it to clear the path while the feet propel the chair.

Watch video TSD8o: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in a manual chair: Pull doors.

For pull doors with no room to the handle side of the door, the student may hit the chair with the door when opening it. If possible, the student should grasp the handle, back up, and pull the door open—allowing it to pass in front of the feet. If the feet are on the ground, use them to move the chair backward. If they are not on the ground, the student must learn to either use chair wheel rails or use the hand on the wall to push the chair backward. Students who cannot lean forward to reach the door handle may have to pull up to the door at an angle. It may take several attempts for the student to establish how far the chair must be from the door to allow the door to swing past the chair. Once the door clears the chair, the student should use either the feet or the hand to propel the chair forward. Not all students—and practiced consumers—are able to navigate all pull doors independently, especially pull doors that have no room to the handle side. Students and practiced consumers must sometimes solicit assistance to navigate some doors.

Watch video TSD8p: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in a manual chair: Pull doors, no room to side.

Navigating Doors in an Electric Wheelchair

For many electric wheelchair users, navigating doors is particularly difficult. The strategies to use depend on which direction the door opens, the type of chair, and the physical abilities and/or limitations of the student.

Pull Doors to Joystick Side

Pull doors that open to the joystick side of the wheelchair can be problematic.

The first step is to drive up to the side of the doorway that has the handle. A common mistake, which is sometimes unavoidable, is to pull up too closely to the door so that the chair blocks the door from opening.

One strategy is for the student to use the hand that normally operates the joystick to pull and throw the door open as far as possible. Before the door swings closed, the student grabs the joystick and turns the chair so that the closing door catches on the wheelchair’s footplate. The student may have to throw the door open several times before she gets the chair turned far enough to catch the door on the footplate. If a student struggles consistently with the weight of a door or with how fast the door closes, she should advocate for herself and request that the building owner adjust the door mechanisms, specifically, the resistance the door creates when opened and the rate at which the hydraulics allow the door to close. With the door held open by the footplate, the student turns the chair to face the door, putting the side of the chair to the door opening. The student then pushes open the door by driving forward with the chair, keeping the side of the chair to the opening. The student should turn the chair so that the feet stay close to the edge of the door. She should not drive toward the doorframe yet. This makes the door as lightweight as possible and helps with positioning for navigating the opening. The student stops when the door is perpendicular to the opening. For most doorways, this puts the student in place to perform a pivot-in-place turn to face the opening. A door pushed to perpendicular combined with a 90-degree, pivot-in-place turn results in most electric wheelchairs being centered in the opening. The exact turn type needed to center the wheelchair in the door opening depends on the style of chair and must be determined for each student. With rear wheel drive chairs, or on chairs with extended footplates, the student may need to pivot on one wheel, the one closest to the opening. Before turning to face the opening, instruct the student to use the cane to check and make sure the chair is in the correct position for turning, as well as checking to make sure that there are not stairs or other obstacles on the other side of the doorway.

As the chair turns to face the opening, the student may need to stop and push the door open again to make sure it does not catch on the joystick controller box or other protrusion on the wheelchair. Most consumers have learned to use their forearms and elbows to keep the door from scraping along the side of the chair as they pass.

Watch video TSD8q: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in an electric wheelchair: Pull doors to joystick side.

Another strategy that many consumers like is to use the tip of the cane to hold the door open as they turn the chair to face the door. Instruct the student to pull the door open with the joystick hand and then wedge the tip of the cane between the bottom of the door and the floor. The closer the tip is to the end of the door, the more likely it is to grab and not slide. The increased leverage makes the door seem lighter. With the door propped open, the student turns the chair to face the door and pulls up to the door. The student must release the cane on the door before the chair reaches the door, otherwise the cane might catch between the chair and the door. The rest of the procedure is the same as for the other techniques. Once free from holding the door open, the student swings the cane into the opening to check for drop-offs or obstacles. Then, she pushes the door open with the chair until perpendicular to the door opening. Instruct the student to make a 90-degree turn to face the opening. The forearm and elbow hold the door off the chair to keep it from scraping or getting caught.

Watch video TSD8r: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in an electric wheelchair: Pull doors to joystick side with cane.

A third strategy is for the student to open the door with the hand on the joystick side and reach across the body to operate the joystick. Hold the cane in the hand holding the door open. Some experienced consumers use the opposite hand to turn the chair, but then release the door and finish the procedure with the hand they normally use to drive. Others will continue to hold the door open with the joystick hand while the opposite hand turns the chair, drives forward, and turns to drive through the opening.

Watch video TSD8s: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in an electric wheelchair: Pull doors to joystick side with reach across body.

For doors that must open from the side, the student may have trouble getting in position to open the door. Depending on her range of motion, she may have to turn slightly away from the door to get close enough to reach the handle. Have her turn the chair away with her back toward the wall. This may allow her to reach the door and position her feet in such a manner that the door will have clearance.

Watch video TSD8t: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in an electric wheelchair: Pull doors that open to the side.

Pull Doors to Free Hand Side

To teach students to navigate most pull doors to the free hand side, instruct them to do the following:

  1. Pull up to the handle side of the door, facing the wall.
  2. Pull the door open with the free hand.
  3. Turn the chair toward the door until the footplate hits the door.
  4. Release the door handle and allow the door to rest on the footplate.
  5. Use the chair to push the door open until the door is perpendicular to the opening.
  6. Turn to face the opening.
  7. Use the free hand or elbow to hold the door off the chair.
  8. As the chair passes through the opening, the door releases and may rest on the back of the chair as the door closes behind the chair.

Watch video TSD8u: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in an electric wheelchair: Pull doors to free hand side.

If there is no room to pull up beside the door, and the student has the ability to lean forward to grab the handle, she may be able to pull straight up to the door and back up to pull the door open. As soon as the door has room to swing past the footplate, the student should stop and swing the door past the chair. With the hand on the opposite side of the door, instruct the student to start pulling forward, keeping the door held open, first with her hand, then the elbow, and finally, if necessary, with the back of the chair.

If the student cannot reach the handle when the chair is facing the door, ask her to turn away from the door so that the free hand is closer to the door. The student pulls the door open until the chair blocks the door. She then turns away again until the door clears the front of the chair. As the chair turns away from the door, the casters may get in the way. The student has to turn far enough to clear the footplate and the casters. Once the door clears the front of the chair, the chair turns back toward the door until the door rests on the footplate. The footplate pushes the door the rest of the way open until the door is perpendicular to the opening. The student then turns toward the opening and passes through the doorway.

Watch video TSD8v: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in an electric wheelchair: Pull doors to free hand side without room to pull beside door.

Some consumers are unable to navigate some pull doors independently, especially those with no space to the handle side of the door. They have learned to solicit assistance to navigate the doors.

Push Doors to Joystick Side

Push doors are generally easier to navigate than pull doors. The student should approach the door straight on. The student reaches forward to turn the handle or push the panic bar. She can then release the door and allow it to rest on the footplate. If it opens to the joystick side, the student can push the door open with the power of the chair driving forward. As the door opens, it slides across the footplate and then onto the joystick control box. The student can use her forearm or elbow to hold the door off the chair as it passes through the opening.

When the student drives through a doorway, she should always make sure that her shoulders pass through the door before turning.

If the student has the ability to drive with the opposite hand, she can hold the door open with the joystick hand while driving cross-handed through the doorway.

Watch video TSD8w: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in an electric wheelchair: Push doors to joystick side.

Push Doors to Free Hand Side

If the push door opens to the free hand side, instruct the student to pull up to the door and turn the handle or push the panic bar. She should allow the footplate to push the door open and catch the door with the free hand as she passes through.

Many students learn to navigate doors effectively during lessons that focus on the techniques learned; but when they transition to outdoors or unfamiliar areas, they forget to use the strategies they practiced in class.

While each chair and each doorway is unique, once a technique is learned, the student should be able to navigate most doors. All students should learn alternative strategies in case the technique they usually use does not work on a particular door. Some doors are inaccessible and consumers learn to solicit assistance to navigate them. Factors that affect accessibility include width of opening, weight of door/spring load, wind pushing the door closed, and maneuverability around the doorway.

Watch video TSD8x: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors in an electric wheelchair: Push doors to free hand side.

Navigating Pull Doors With One Arm

For students who have little or no use of one arm, it may be very difficult to open pull doors that open to the weak side.

  1. If the student can put her back to the wall to the side of the door and still reach the handle, she can open the door and throw it as far open as possible.
  2. Instruct her to quickly grab the joystick and turn the feet to face the door. As the door swings shut, the door catches on the wheelchair's footplate. If not, she will have to catch the door and throw it open again. It may take several attempts, but once the door catches on the footplate, the chair can push the door all the way open.
  3. When the door is perpendicular to the opening, the student can turn to face the opening and drive through.

Watch video TSD8y: Tight Spaces and Doors: Opening doors with one arm.

If the student does not have sufficient range of motion, arm strength, or trunk strength to reach the doorknob without blocking the door, teach her to use a lasso, which is a cord with a loop at the end, to pull the joystick while her stronger arm opens the door.

Steps to navigate a door with a lasso:

  1. Student pulls up to the door so that she can reach the knob with the stronger arm. The feet will block the door from swinging all the way open.
  2. Student places the loop of the lasso over the joystick and the loose end of the lasso in her weak hand, or if necessary, in her mouth.
  3. Instruct the student to use the stronger arm to grab the doorknob and pull the door open slightly.
  4. The student should then turn her head or pull back with the weaker arm to pull the lasso, subsequently pulling the joystick and causing the chair to turn until the feet have moved out of the way of the door.
  5. The student then flings open the door as far as possible.
  6. The student quickly reaches back down and grabs the joystick to turn the feet to face the door; this allows the door to swing back and hit the footplate. It may be necessary to throw the door open several times before it catches on the footplate.
  7. The student uses the footplate to push the door open as far as possible. Students should learn to stay as close to the edge of the door as possible (away from the hinges).
  8. When the door is perpendicular to the opening, the student turns the chair to face the doorway.
  9. The student drives through the opening, stopping to push the door if necessary to keep it from catching on the arm or shoulder.

Watch video TSD8z: Tight Spaces and Doors: Opening doors with one arm: Using a lasso.

To make a lasso, like the one shown in the video, thread one end of an eyeglass strap through the small loop on the other end of the strap; this creates a bigger loop. Position the loop over the joystick and tighten it up so that it does not slip off when pulled.

Navigating Doors on a Scooter

Techniques to navigate doors while on a scooter depend on which direction the door opens.

Push Doors on Right Side

For push doors that open to the right side, students should pull straight up to the doorway. They can then open the door with the right hand and drive forward with the left hand. Many students who normally drive with the right hand get confused when they have to switch and drive with the left hand. By using the thumb of the left hand to pull back the left side of the throttle control lever, the right hand is free to hold the door open as the chair moves forward. The student should hold the cane in the hand that holds the door open. Instruct the student to choke up on the cane and to grasp it with the thumb and forefinger while using the other fingers to turn the doorknob or press the panic bar. With the door latch released, the student can use the scooter to help push the door open. Since the right hand is opening the door, there is a tendency to approach the door too far to the left side of the opening instead of in the center of the doorway. If the student catches the side of the doorway with the scooter, she may need to review navigating tight spaces by using two chairs to represent the door opening.

Watch video TSD8aa: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors on a scooter: Push doors on right side.

Push Doors on Left Side

For push doors that open to the left, the student should drive the scooter straight up to the doorway and reach her left hand across her body to grasp the handle or panic bar. The farther across the doorway she reaches the more leverage she will have to open the door. With the left arm fully extended, the power of the scooter pushes the door open.

Watch video TSD8bb: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors on a scooter: Push doors on left side.

Pull Doors on Left Side

For pull doors that open to the left, the student should drive the scooter up to the right hand side of the doorway and pull the door open with the left hand. She turns the tiller all the way to the right, and then backs up to start turning the scooter to the left. When the scooter has turned to the point that the door is almost out of reach, the student turns the tiller all the way to the left and drives forward to finish turning toward the door. Once the door opens far enough to be perpendicular to the opening, she turns the tiller back to the right to face the opening and drives through the doorway.

Watch video TSD8cc: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors on a scooter: Pull doors on left side.

For pull doors with no room to the handle side of the door, the scooter will have to block the opening door initially. Instruct the student to drive the nose of the scooter toward the door handle and position the scooter as near to perpendicular to the closed door as possible. She holds the handle on the hinge side of the door. She backs up the scooter at an angle that allows the door to swing past the scooter. The angle position of the scooter depends on how much room is available behind the scooter. The student opens the door until it is perpendicular to the opening. She turns the scooter to face the opening and drives through.

Watch video TSD8dd: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors on a scooter: Pull doors with no room to handle side.

Pull Doors on Right Side

For pull doors that open to the right, the student should drive the scooter to the left side of the doorway. She can open the door using the reverse of the technique given for pull doors to the left; or if the student can reach the doorknob with the right hand, she can drive the scooter straight back with the left hand, as the right hand pulls the door open. When she stops the scooter, she switches hands to hold the handle in the hand on the near side of the open door. The student then drives the scooter through the open doorway. Some practiced consumers reach across their body to drive with the left hand on the right side of the tiller; they switch back to driving with the right hand once they clear the doorway. Not everyone can drive cross-handed. It is difficult to make fine turns or maintain a straight line of travel while driving cross-handed.

Watch video TSD8ee: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors on a scooter: Pull doors on right side.

When approaching pull doors from the side, the technique to use depends on how far the student can reach. If the door hits the nose of the scooter, the student should back up until the door clears the scooter, and then drive forward to push the door open. When the door is perpendicular to the opening, the student turns the tiller to face the open doorway and drives the scooter through.

If the student does not have the reach for the door to clear the nose of the scooter, she can pull the door open until it hits the scooter. With the tiller turned away from the doorway, she drives the scooter forward—while still holding onto the door—until the door clears the body of the scooter. Keeping the tiller turned away from the doorway, she backs up the scooter until the nose of the scooter passes the end of the door. Then, she turns the tiller to face the opening, and drives the scooter through the opening. As the scooter turns to face the opening, the student may need to switch the hand that is driving with the hand that is holding the door open.

Watch video TSD8ff: Tight Spaces and Doors: Navigating doors on a scooter: Pull doors from the side, techniques.

Closing Doors Without Springs

For all three types of chairs, it can be difficult to close doors that do not have a mechanism to close on their own. For push doors, the student may have to turn around to reach the door to swing it shut. Wheelchair users, manual or electric, may choose to turn around and catch the door with the footplate and use the footplate to push the door closed.

For pull doors without closing mechanisms, students may need to turn around and drive back through the doorway, facing the door until they can reach the handle, and then back up to pull the door closed. Another idea is to use a “reacher” to grasp the handle and pull the door closed. One student—who was unable to operate a reacher—was able to loop the elastic strap at the end of his cane to the doorknob and then back through the doorway, using the cane to pull the door closed. Once the door closed, he removed the strap from the doorknob. Before using this technique in an unfamiliar area, students should use their canes to make sure that the area on the other side of the doorway is navigable before hooking the cane on the doorknob.

Seatbelts, safety harnesses, lap trays, posture aides, wind conditions, weight of doors, spring tension settings, time of day, and many other variables can affect whether a person is able to open a door or not. Some students, who could not initially open heavy spring-loaded doors, developed the ability to complete the task with practice.

Backing through doorways is important, especially when the room or space in which one must back into is too small to turn around the chair. Good examples include elevators, train doors, small offices, and so forth.

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