Freedom Wheelchair Skills

Freedom Wheelchair Skills is a specialist peer-led wheelchair training service founded by Stuart Wheeler, offering personalised coaching to help wheelchair users develop confidence, independence, and practical skills in their everyday lives. Stuart brings over a decade of professional experience in wheelchair skills instruction, having previously worked with Back Up, the UK spinal injuries charity, and co-authored the Back-Up Wheelchair Skills Manual used across the country.Training sessions cover essential everyday skills including basic wheelchair handling techniques, door opening, space awareness and navigation, kerb management, and confidence-building manoeuvres tailored to each individual’s current ability level and personal goals. All sessions are delivered flexibly, either within clients’ homes or in their local area, removing the need to travel to a training centre. This peer-led approach, where instruction comes from someone with genuine lived experience of wheelchair use, creates a supportive, understanding learning environment that clinical settings often cannot replicate. The service operates nationwide across the United Kingdom. For new wheelchair users, those returning to wheelchair use after a break, or anyone looking to build greater confidence and independence in daily activities, Freedom Wheelchair Skills provides expert, empathetic training built on real-world experience.