Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Found help to learn bike riding!

It seems that every year around this time a thread appears about helping our kids with motor planning issues learn to ride a bike. This looks to be summer number 4 (or is it 5...) that DD9 will try to learn. At this point she can't even ride with training wheels - just getting the pedals to go around seems to be too much for her. But... Sound the trumpets...

I found a nonprofit program that teaches kids with disabilities how to ride a bike! We just enrolled DD but the program won't be in our area until August for me to report back on it. Here's a link to their website in case anyone else is interested. They offer the program all over North America.

http://icanshine.org/

In a nutshell - 75 minutes a day for 5 days and 80% of the participants are able to ride independently by the end. Minimum 8 years of age with a 20 inch inseam. Max weight for their equipment is 220 pounds. The rider must have a disability.

There's also a program sometimes called "lose the training wheels."

Good luck to DD...

ETA: now I see it's the same program, renamed...

Sounds good. I hope this is successful for you.

We had issues teaching my DD to ride a bike, she still isn't great but she is comfortable. My DD had gross motor problems as a baby, LD's, and inner ear issues. One issue was the correct equipment. It's actually easier to balance on an larger bike. And if your DD still can't peddle, you might consider a big wheel or low rider trike. Get the peddling down before you work on the balance and peddling. We used a "trailer" bike for a few years, and a lot of patience. My daughter wasn't ridding without training wheels till she was 8. But in 7th grade I had her riding to school (with me & her brother) almost every day.

P.S. I was grateful over the years for the dance instructor that worked once when only 3 girls showed up on how to skip. And the PE specialist her elementary finally hired (rather than untrained regular teachers), who stopped and taught my daughter (and a few others) HOW to run a mile. How to swing the arms, pace yourself, etc.. I was always frustrated by people who just assumed that all kids pick this stuff up with little instruction.

That looks like a neat program! There are none near us, but I'll check again next year. DD has such poor balance--I think she could do it, but she's perpetually afraid of falling down.

Our elementary school has a lovely Adaptive PE class that she takes twice a week which is wonderful. It's one of the few things at our current school I'm truely going to miss next year.

Looks very cool.

I have no idea what your DD's challenges are so please disregard if this doesn't help - have you tried a balance/run bike? At that age the easiest/cheapest thing would be to take the pedals and cranks off a regular bike (no training wheels). The kids then sit on the bike and walk eventually building up to pushing off and coasting (think running but with some sitting on a bike and coasting between strides).

It won't solve the pedaling issue but it might give her something to tool around the neighborhood with and possibly keep up with siblings or other kids who are on bikes. My kids had them and I had to jog to keep up with them as toddlers. They do help with balance which eventually will be useful once she sorts the pedaling out. We also liked that they handled off roading and gravel better bikes with training wheels.

Again, no idea if that is a possibility for your situation. If you want google "strider bikes you tube" and there are lots of videos (most of the kids are young so I wouldn't show them to a 9 year old) but it will give an idea.

I agree with Chay if it works for your child to try a balance bike. We were lucky and our DS doesn't have motor issues. He started on a balance bike at 2, was riding a 16 inch at 4 and just graduated to a 20 inch mountain bike with gears at 6. I am giving all of the credit to the balance bike!! He was a cautious kid, but the amount of confidence he built with the balance bike was amazing! You could, literally, see him beaming when he rode it. Very empowering! We never did a trike because it was SO not exciting or fast enough for him! We totally bypassed training wheels. The only problem he had initially with the 16 inch was not knowing quite what to do with the pedals. But he figured it out! Since your child is older, like Chay suggested, you could perhaps get an old BMX single speed bike and cut off the pedals. We have friends who are trying this with their 6 1/2 year old soon and I can update how it goes if you need it.

Good luck!

My DS who has dyspraxia, I am quite sure, loved the balance bike (he does have good balance despite dyspraxia tho) but still had such issues with coordinating the pedals! So maybe trying the balance bike in addition; but ,just know that, while it may be the end all be all for neurotypical kids (all the neurotypical kiddos in our neighborhood were riding without training wheels at ages 3 and 4 due to the balance bike), for our kiddos it may help but isn't "it." So glad you found help! It's so good for their self esteem to learn something that all kids seem to be able to learn! Good luck!

Pemberley, I wish I had thought to post about this last summer, I did post to another board I frequent, and posting it here didn't even occur to me. Piper did this program last summer and it was a huge success. She went from being afraid to ride a bike to riding a two-wheeler independently by Thursday! She spent Friday riding independently, and hasn't looked back since. She did have to work on tight turns more, but other than that she was good to go. I cannot recommend this program highly enough!

They'll send you guidelines on the type of bike she should have, just follow them and you'll be fine. The kids do work hard, but a ton of the kids had transitioned by Friday, watching them dodge each other as they rode was pretty entertaining..lol. Piper did have a few spills, but they get the kids back up and on immediately. She didn't have time to panic! I'll look forward to hearing about your experience!

The program looks great and there is one nearby, but I would hesitate to send my kids as I don't think they have disabilities that would interfere with the ability to ride a bike. Sure, they aren't very coordinated and they kind of run funny (sent them to speed and agility training to correct that). However, judging from the things they can do, I think they should be able to just figure it out. It does cause issues for them, especially DD16, since it is rather embarrassing to admit that she can't ride (DD18 can ride on flat surfaces without a lot of turns). Any suggestions for older kids that can't ride?

What causes the problem, balance or coordination or just practice?

I would make sure the bike fits. Bigger wheels are easier to balance. But if the bike is too big it can be uncomfortable to ride. Just like a lot of other things, a lot of practice. Is your DD going fast enough, it's hard to turn if you are biking too slow. Another idea would be to see if you can rent or borrow a tandem bike, and have them ride on the back to get used to how it feels.

My DD can ride, but I was never comfortable enough with her riding ability to push her to ride to H.S. on her own. She can ride, but her balance was never that great. On the other hand my son now rides that 2 miles, back and forth to school on his own everyday. He loves the independence.

Both. My son had great balance but not good coordination so he did get it but not without more struggle than normal ,I would say, and not with regular instruction. Most dyspraxics have poor balance AND poor coordination so they are really at a disadvantage. My DS is just lucky that for some reason his balance is decent.

My kids probably just need practice. They have learned other things, like rollerblading, with some practice. Older two kids play their sport(s) at a reasonably competitive level - enough to get some interest from DIII coaches, so I don't think it is a coordination issue. It is just to the point that DD16 doesn't even want anyone to see her try to ride - and none of us want her to get hurt and miss her tournaments/showcases this summer.

Actually, my DS picked up rollerblading and ice skating quite easily. But things like swimming and bike riding and jumping jacks not so well. So I don't know! You know your kids best though. The picking up of sports at a competitive level is a very good sign. Dyspraxics may excel eventually at one sport but I think getting there at all requires a lot (they tend not to just pick motor skills like that up, ykim?) I like to think the bike riding actually helped improve DS's coordination so that things like rollerblading and ice skating came easier... and help with swimming, etc. I don't know, I am not sure how much such skills are transferrable - they say with dyspraxics they are not (that each such skill needs to be specifically and specially taught) so maybe it was just that he was blessed with good balance despite his dyspraxia that skills like skating came easier to him. So none/neither of your kids can really ride? The riding but not picking up turns is interesting? perhaps a vision issue? Or coud be like you say - lack of practice. Although, that is the other thing I find with DS - he will lose skills learned without practice, which is so odd compared to other kiddos. I mean the saying is "It's like riding a bike" right? but Ds has forgotten the skill already and had to relearn... Now he is just pretty rusty after a long winter without riding. And he has "forgotten" swimming several times. completely lost the skill over and over (terrible) again other kids don't seem to have this problem. Even swinging on a swing he has forgotten. Apparently this is pretty common of dyspraxia. Anyway, totally just some musings and food for thought - not saying there is anything going on with your kiddos!

DS has DCD (dyspraxia) and I thought he'd never learn to ride, or he'd ride really late so I haven't tried to teach him. But he was riding a razor scooter over the winter in physical therapy (up and down the hallways of the building). That taught him the balance needed so that as soon as the snow melted off the sidewalks he dragged a bike out of the garage that I had forgotten was there, jumped on, and started riding like it was no big deal, within seconds of getting it out of the garage. I was inside the house and saw him zipping past the house on a bike. It was a startling sight. Reminded me of that scene in the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy is in a tornado and the witch lady rides by the window on a bike. He had never had problems pedaling though and could ride a bike with training wheels since he was 3. It was the balance that he didn't seem to understand until recently.
With DD I had to actually put more effort into teaching her. No DCD but she was younger (like 5)...I had to do the whole thing with running beside the bike, practically holding the bike up, etc. Not so with DS, my uncoordinated one. I think he just matured enough over the winter that he was ready. And the razor scooter helped. Kind of like babies learning to walk. One day they can't do it at all and the next day they can.

Thanks for posting your experience PipersMom! I am really looking forward to it. I just hope my DD has the same success with the program that yours did. I will post back about it in August.

About the balance and coordination - my DD has good balance and terrible coordination. She does really well on a horse but can't use a scooter to save her life. She swims like a fish under water but years of swimming lessons haven't helped her above water. At first she took great to ice skating but soon lost the ability - was never able to rollerblade. Like Irena's son she seems to lose a skill if she doesn't keep using it. She is a natural dancer but has real difficulty remembering choreography - no where close to the ability level you would expect after 6 years of dance lessons.

As DH said this morning she's an enigma. I'm just so happy there are other parents here who can relate!

NotSo..There were kids at the program as old as 18. Piper was 12 at the time and has Asperger's, and while she was one of the higher functioning kids, she wasn't the only one, by any means. There really was a diverse group, kids with ASDs, Down's Syndrome, etc. If it's something your dd would benefit from, and is interested in, I would look into it.

I just had to comment on this because she sounds just like Piper, Pemberley. Watching her use a scooter (or try to) I never knew whether I should laugh or cry..one foot was pretty much ALWAYS on the ground, and she is the same way with swimming as well. There was talk that ICanShine is looking into doing a similar program for swimming, and I'm really hoping they will! She can dog-paddle , and does okay on her back, but that's about it.