Senior Greg Portilla sits in his old wheelchair outside of the small gym. He later got his new chair, Portilla has now been in his new chair for three months now and moves around more efficiently than his last. (Photo by Kyra Peper)
Wheels of Wonder Senior Greg Portilla can remember when he got his power wheelchair and how it has been a help to him BY KARIS SKAGGS karisskaggs@gmail.com
Special education para educator Colleen Songer sits and waits patiently, holding the tray up on senior Greg Portilla’s wheelchair. In the quiet room, all you can hear is clicking every few seconds as Portilla scrolls through the pre-set options on his iPad to give a response to a question. “I was excited to get my new chair, it had been a long time since I had got my last chair so it made my back hurt when I stayed in it too long,” his communication device reads for him. He presses his head and knee scanner that are set up on his wheelchair in a certain pattern in order to choose different options on the communication
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device. It is a lengthy process for him to answer just one question. He wasn’t the only one who had a little to learn when the new device arrived. “I was like ‘oh great,’ another thing to learn, but it is a lot easier to do than the other [wheelchair] because it has two settings; a slower one and a faster one,” Songer said. Portilla has learned an uncommon skill that is necessary for him to be able to get around; he has learned to drive a power chair with his head. In order to go forward, left or right, he leans his head back, left or right on the panels that are on his chair by his head. He got his first power-chair in middle school, but he got his newest one this past September. “I was proud of him to see that he had that ability,” essential skills teacher Juli Smith said. “He was just
learning how, but I would say [I felt] proud that he would take that chance because it was hard. It took a lot of time to learn how to do that, and a lot of crashes.” Smith said that the first time she saw him in his wheelchair, he was joking with her and he tried to run over her. He does enjoy pranking people and Songer said that he makes work more enjoyable. Portilla is really good at steering his chair, and often goes up to people really fast and stops right before them to scare them. “He is a sweet and caring young man, he is always ready to help others as well as ready to prank others,” Songer said. “I think he is a lot of fun to be around.” Not only has Portilla enjoyed his power chair, which has made him more independent, but so have other