High School Robotics Team Builds Motorized Car for 2-Year-Old Unable to Walk: 'We're So Grateful'

Cillian Jackson was born with a condition that limits his mobility — but that hasn’t stopped the 2-year-old Minnesota boy from getting around in style.

The Rogue Robotics team at Farmington High School hacked a Power Wheels toy car, modifying it to build the little boy a custom motorized chair, CNN reported. Video footage of Jackson trying out the device for the first time showed the toddler smiling in his new wheels.

“The joy on his face really made my entire year,” Alex Treakle, a freshman who worked on the project, told CNN. “I decided to get involved with the project because … I wanted to help someone, and it felt really good in the end.”

Jackson was born with a genetic condition that manifests in symptoms similar to cerebral palsy, the boy’s father Tyler Jackson told WAVY.

“He has an especially hard time controlling his body,” Tyler said of Cillian.

The journey to Cillian’s new wheels began months ago when the toddler’s parents were searching for a power wheelchair, but realized they wouldn’t be able to afford the costly device, according to WAVY. Instead, the parents turned to the high school robotics team, and the teens were more than happy to take on the project.

They created the chair using a model from Go Baby Go, a mobility tech company that produces custom vehicles for kids with limited mobility.

“I would say [it took] a couple of weeks working after school,” coach Spencer Elvebak told CBS News. “The GoBabyGo program gave us some great resources to use, but we did have to make quite a few customizations to accommodate for Cillian’s specific needs.”

The team presented the chair to Cillian’s family just before Christmas last year, and shared the video on Facebook, writing, “Our secret is out! For the past few weeks our team dedicated themselves to make a wheelchair for Cillian.”

Tyler and his wife Krissy Jackson couldn’t have been happier about the big effort for their son.

“These kids took time out of their busy schedules to do this for our son,” Krissy told WAVY. “We’re so grateful.”

Krissy echoed her statements to CNN, telling the site that she’s already seen a change in Cillian since he got the motorized wheelchair.

“It really helped his discovery and curiosity,” she said. “Having the car has really given him the agency to make choices on his own.”

Tyler added of his son: “When he gets in the car, he will consciously stop and look at a doorknob or a light switch or all of these things he’s never had time to explore.”

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