How It Works
From hello to sideways.
A Happy Lap is designed to feel exciting without throwing someone into the deep end. We take the time to understand the passenger, introduce the environment and build the experience around how they respond.
Five steps
Built around the passenger,one step at a time.
Step 01
Tell us about the passenger.
Before the day, we want to understand who we're creating the experience for. That might include:
- communication preferences
- sensory considerations
- mobility requirements
- previous experience around cars
- anxiety around unfamiliar environments
- relevant support requirements
- what generally helps them feel comfortable
We're not looking for reasons somebody can't participate. We're looking for what helps us work out whether the experience may be suitable, and how to shape it around them.
Step 02
Meet the car. Meet the driver. Meet the pan.
There's no need to rush straight into the passenger seat. The passenger can become familiar with the environment, see the vehicle and understand what is about to happen before the experience begins.
For someone who loves cars, this might be the exciting part. For someone feeling uncertain, it can make a completely new environment feel much more predictable.
The car is a Ford BF Falcon ute. The passenger seat is a fixed bucket seat and the transfer in is low and tight, so it may suit some people and not others. A helmet is provided.
Tell us about mobility and transfers and we'll be honest about whether it may work.
Step 03
Start where they're comfortable.
We don't need to send it on lap one.
Where appropriate, the first lap can be calmer. It gives the passenger a chance to feel the vehicle moving, understand the wet surface and experience what a lap actually feels like.
Then we see how they're feeling.
Step 04
Find their Happy Lap.
Feeling confident? We can build the experience.
Want to keep things cruisy? That's completely fine too.
There isn't one correct way to enjoy Happy Lap. The experience is shaped around the passenger wherever reasonably possible.
Step 05
Get out with a story.
A Happy Lap isn't about setting a lap time.
It could be laughing all the way around.
Asking to go again.
Trying something they were nervous about.
Or simply stepping out of the car proud that they gave it a shot.
That's the whole point.
Support people
You know the person.We know the pan.
Families, carers and support workers often know the small things that make a big difference.
Tell us what helps.
We would rather have the conversation than make assumptions about what somebody can or cannot do.