Will he be propelling it himself at all?
If he's not going to be and you will be pushing it, you could go with a Maclaren Major special needs stroller.
I'd suggest you make sure that he has one he
could propel himself if he wants to. That gives him more independence and makes him look more grown up than using what is basically a giant stroller.
It sounds like he probably doesn't have a lot of positioning needs if he is currently using an adult wheelchair. A lot of the cost of a wheelchair is in special seating - my DD's wheelchair back alone cost around $750 and her seat cushion was also that much. Besides cost, those things add weight and make it harder to propel a wheelchair and also to lift it into a car.
Sunrise Medical makes Zippie children's wheelchairs.They also make
Quickie adult and children's wheelchair. Sunrise is one of the biggest wheelchair manufacturers in the US and my DD's manual chairs have all been from Sunrise. Some of their children's models go only to 14 inch seat depth, but some are deeper.
Invacare is the other big US company for wheelchairs. My DD has never had an Invacare manual wheelchair, but all her power wheelchairs have been Invacare. They do have
pediatric manual wheelchairs too.
I don't know that much about other brands, but one of my favorite places to look at things online,
adaptivemall, does have some pediatric wheelchairs from other companies.
Wheelchair.com also has some different pediatric wheelchairs.
A company called
Colours makes really nice looking wheelchairs, but I have not seen any of them in real life.
Some other things I would suggest:
- - foam filled (or permanently filled tires). Those are great because you don't have to check them for air - ever - and they won't go flat. If you do opt for air filled tires, make sure the casters (those small wheels) are solid. We got talked into some that were air filled once and "a pain" doesn't even begin to cover it.
- consider mag tires. These are the kind that have plastic molded tire spokes (not sure exactly what you call it, but the Quickie link above shows that kind). The mag wheels are lighter and also you don't have to do any maintenance on them. The kind with spokes (like on a bike) need to be checked periodically to make sure they have not loosened or gotten bent.
- if you have a choice between swing away footrests and fixed, consider whether he needs them swung away to get in and out. They add weight and become another part that can get out of adjustment.
- look at how the wheelchair folds - some fold side to side like an umbrella stroller. Some have a rigid frame and the top folds down into the bottom. That's how my DD's current manual wheelchair folds. It takes different space for each kind. The side to side takes a longer space to put it in, but you may be able to fold it and stand it upright in the back of a van. The back down folding kind may take more dis-assembly to fit.
- don't let them order too big of a chair, but realize that it may take a while to jump thru all the hoops and get the chair. For one of my DD's manual wheelchairs, the person fitting it said she really would need a 16 inch wide wheelchair because she would grow out of a 14 inch wide one too soon. We listened and got the bigger one. It is still too big and that wheelchair is now about 4 yrs old and my DD is full grown in a 14 inch wide chair that actually fits her.
Picture of my DD's manual wheelchair folded. The wheels also have a quick release so they can be easily popped on and off.
Good luck and either post again or PM me if you want more help.