Written by Laura Severs, Edmonton Journal, February 27, 2026
Mobility car for young children doesn’t require a renovation, just a rethinking of pathways through a home.
EmPower Cars help give mobility within a home to young children with disabilities. EmPower Cars were on display at the Calgary Renovation Show in January. Photo by Darren Lebuef
An idea for what could have been considered a “toy” car has just about changed everything.
That was more than five years ago, and now young children with disabilities are being empowered to participate in all aspects of life, especially in their own homes.
“The emPower Car allows children to move around their home all by themselves — children who might not have the opportunity to do so otherwise,” said Amber Mack, CEO of Kids Included.
Though the fleet is only at five fully operational vehicles — more are in the works and there is demand for at least 50 — the innovative emPower Car offers customized mobility vehicles to children aged two to six, with disabilities, and opens the door to a new reality for these children and their families.
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Smaller than a wheelchair, the emPower Car is customized to the user and made from highly sanded plywood, 3D printed parts, is foldable, and uses an easily accessible battery should it need to be replaced. It was created through the joint efforts of the Edmonton-based Kids Included (formerly GRIT, Getting Ready for Inclusion Today) and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta.
On display at the recent 2026 Calgary Renovation Show, held at the BMO Centre in Stampede Park, the emPower Car, which fits through a standard doorway, showed it is possible to navigate tight corners and easily deal with the realities of home living.
“I wanted to show people — and this was the goal of Kids Included, as well — that this emPower Car is actually something quite accessible and that you don’t need to make brick and mortar changes to have this chair incorporated into your lifestyle,” said Tara Melhus, a home staging consultant who helped in creating the home setting for the emPower Car at the show.
Being able to use the emPower Car in the home is important, said Amber Mack, CEO of Kids Included.
“We know from brain research that when a child is moved by someone else, it doesn’t fire the same neurons in the brain,” said Mack. “But when a child initiates movement, it changes their brains.”
A big takeaway for parents of children with disabilities, said Melhus, is to look at the home and its specific spaces and take into account how they are used and base any changes off of that.
“Maybe it’s just a re-think of the furniture that you have,” said Melhus, noting to make sure they are the right proportion for the space.
For example, is a three-seater sofa the right piece or would a sectional make more sense and give more room for an emPower Car, a wheelchair or other accessible equipment? Are there additional chairs in the room that aren’t being used? If so, maybe they should go elsewhere and at the same time you free up more space to move about.
“With a child with disabilities … just rearranging bedrooms so the child can bring the emPower chair (or a wheelchair) right up to the bed and what does that look like? Is there enough room, does the bed need to be pushed up against the wall? Again, it’s just reimagining the spaces for how you use them.”
Further, Melhus suggested sturdy furniture pieces, ones that don’t easily move, as well as materials that would hold up well to kids.
Filling A Need
When Kids Included decided to move forward with the emPower Car, it filled a unique void.
Typically, children only receive power mobility devices when they are older and would miss the window for critical periods of brain development, said Kids Included.
Included version comes in at $1,000. But families don’t have to pay the $1,000 as Kids Included loans the devices to the family. Once returned, it is checked, can be reconfigured for the next user’s needs and sent out to another family for use.
“The goal is to have 25 cars out on loan by the end of June and thanks to our donors, this is in the works,” said Mack.
Families interested in the emPower Car can go the Kids Included website and look at the Early Childhood Services section. For those in Calgary, Kids Included is working to find a partner to distribute the emPower Car there but nothing has been finalized yet. Ultimately, the goal is to have the emPower Car available to pediatric centres in Alberta and eventually, across Canada.
Founded in 1982, Kids Included has been involved with inclusive early learning for more than 40 years and supports the inclusion of young children with disabilities.