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.