Alternative Access Controls

Find independence with more than your hands.

A woman with blonde hair in a purple sleeveless top sits in a motorized wheelchair with alternative access controls outdoors, smiling, surrounded by green trees and plants.

Use & Benefits

Customized Controls. Maximum Independence.

While a normal power wheelchair is operated through a joystick by hand, Alternative Access Controls are devices that allow you to control your wheelchair through other parts of your body. Alternative Access Controls include head, chin, tongue, speech and sip-n-puff controls.

A black USB joystick switch with a slender stick and a coiled cable ending in a USB plug, placed on a white background. Ideal for use as Alternative Access Controls.
Use

Head Controls: Controls are managed inside a headrest that is attached to your wheelchair.

Chin Controls: Much like a joystick operated by hand, a chin control is simply joystick operated by the chin.

Sip-n-Puff Controls: Using your breath, you are able to control your wheelchair by inhaling (sip) or exhaling (puff).

Personalized Solutions
A variety of control types (e.g., head array, sip-and-puff, chin controls, switch systems) allow customization based on specific physical abilities.
Expanded Accessibility
Makes powered mobility possible for people with complex conditions such as ALS, spinal cord injuries, or severe cerebral palsy.
Enhanced Independence
Allows users to engage more fully in their environments at home, in the community, and at work without needing constant assistance.
A woman with wavy blonde hair, wearing a yellow sweater, smiles while using a wheelchair equipped with Alternative Access Controls such as a mounted joystick and headrest against a white background.
A woman with light brown wavy hair, wearing a yellow top, smiles while using a wheelchair equipped with a headrest, a mouth-operated joystick, and Alternative Access Controls. The background is plain white.
A person wearing rings and a watch uses their hand to operate a joystick control on a wheelchair, demonstrating alternative access methods for improved independence.

Medical Necessity

Medical necessity is a key requirement for insurance to cover mobility equipment. Insurance providers will only approve equipment that is considered medically necessary based on your specific health needs and daily functional limitations. Our team works closely with your healthcare provider to ensure all documentation supports this requirement.

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Insurance Coverage

Because most of our mobility equipment can be covered by insurance, our process is centered around working closely with your insurance provider every step of the way. From your initial evaluation to the final delivery, our dedicated medical documentation team ensures everything is in place to help you get the equipment you need.

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Customer Stories

A graduate, part of Matts Story, smiles on stage at a commencement ceremony, surrounded by faculty in academic regalia. A woman at the podium claps as other faculty members stand in the background, also applauding.
Spinal Cord Injury

Matt’s Story

Paralyzed in a high school hockey game, the moment Matt crashed headfirst into the boards his life changed in a huge way. But his confidence never wavered. Matt’s “Never Quit” attitude allowed him to finish high school, graduate from college, become a well respected motivational speaker and now, his most recent achievement, author of a book.