Does your child want to learn to ride a two-wheeler?

[AverageDiser]

I had the joy of watching my 12 year old daughter with Asperger's Syndrome and GAD ride a two wheeled bike for the first time today thanks to a wonderful organization that runs camps all over the country for children and young adults with autism spectrum disorders, Down's Syndrome and other developmental disabilities to learn to ride a two wheeler.

Their website is iCanShine.org, and I cannot recommend them highly enough! They work with the kids for 75 minutes a day for five days. They use specially designed bikes with rollers in place of back wheels for the kids to learn to balance, and transition them to a two wheeler when they are ready. I happened to catch the tail end of a news story about a month ago, and was lucky they still had spots open. The joy on my daughter's face today was indescribable, with the tears rolling down mine as I watched! I wanted to share this so that anyone else interested could look into it as well. The camps are done for this summer, but you can sign up for email notifications. The kids are taught in small groups, no more than 8 riders, and each rider has two volunteers helping them.

Riding a bike like all her friends was something she had given up on a long time ago. All she could say on the way home was "I can't believe I actually did it". Please look into this if you think your child/young adult may be interested.

 

[robinb]

That sounds wonderful! Are you able to purchase the modified bikes or buy the rollers to modify your own of your child is unable to transition to a regular bike?

When my (non-disabled) DD learned how to ride a bike she started by riding a scooter to gain balance. The younger preschool kids on our block learn balance with a LIKEaBIKE which is a small wooden bike-like frame, wheels and no gears. I think they might work for balance before taking the iCanShine.org class.

I just bookmarked the iCanShine.org website for my autistic nephew .

 

[AverageDiser]

Robin, as far as I know you cannot purchase the modified bikes, however, 80% of the kids that attend the camp come out riding on two wheels. For those that don't, they will add a training bar to the back of the bike for a $35 donation. They also give very detailed instructions of what kind of bike works best for these kids as you have to bring their bike to camp so they can transition to it, usually on Friday. They also instruct all the parents on the last day on how to continue at home, whether that means how to just spot them as they ride, or if they still have further to go. I can tell you that by the end of the session today,(5 riders in the session) 2 boys were on the smallest roller (very close to a regular bike tire), my daughter and another rider were riding with minimal spotting, and another rider was just starting to ride the two wheeler with spotting, and doing a great job! Surprisingly, after the balance, the next thing they emphasize is speed, when someone is spotting what they are actually doing is using the training bar to help the rider maintain good speed so it's easier to stay balanced.

Something else that surprised me is that when it clicks, it clicks. They tried my daughter yesterday on the two wheeler, and she wasn't quite there. Tried her almost first thing this morning, and she had it. It is truly amazing to watch.

 

[kehlyrsmom]

That's wonderful I have two kids on the spectrum ages 13 and 11. We bought a recomebndet (sp?) bike for my oldest the youngest is not tall enough to ride it. We tried for years to get her on a two wheel. We do have a tandem that my oldest can ride with my husband as well, just not balances enough by herself on the single two wheeled.

 

[AverageDiser]

One of the ways they test the kids for readiness is actually by putting them on a tandem so they can get a sense of where they are with balance and speed. We tried for a long time also with no success, but the program they have with the rollers is just excellent. They have 8 different tapers, from a lot of contact with the floor, to the same amount as a bike tire. It made the transition very smooth.

 

[clm10308]

This is a wonderful resource. I wish I had heard of this earlier.
My DD is ADHD, not diagnosed as AU, but has many of the characteristics, was never able to learn to ride a bike. She gave up trying at about 11 and was never willing to try again.

 

[irishsharon]

Thank you!!!!!!!! for sharing this ds is 11 and so wants to be able to ride like the other kids on our street.

 

[AverageDiser]

You're very welcome! I'm passing it along because I wanted to get the word out! It's such a great opportunity for our kids that already feel like they don't fit in, to have a chance to feel like everyone else in one more area of life