iCan Shine

iCan Shine is an organization that teaches recreational skills like bike riding and swimming to people with disabilities.  We happened upon a program near us and enrolled Mikey.  We were hoping he might be able to get rid of his training wheels.

He attended the Bike Camp for the whole week.  He had some good success, but never got to ride completely independently.  I was worried that if he was unable to ride without training wheels, then he would eventually outgrow them and would need to stop biking.  

And, like everything else, I thought if we didn’t try to teach him how to ride independently, we could never know for sure if he could have been capable.  Although he didn’t ride independently, we ended up letting him continue to ride with training wheels after the camp ended.

I Learned

Later, I worked with a charity that helped special needs kids and their families. We helped kids get access to things like chair lifts and handicap ramps. I learned that there are adaptive bikes that allow adults with special needs to ride a bike even if they cannot balance on two wheels.  There are many different options, but one looks like an adult size tricycle.  

Right now, we don’t live in an area where riding such a large bike is possible, but it’s just a reminder that more and more options are available for our kids every day.

I still think it may be worth exposing kids to the opportunity to ride a typical bike if you think they may be able to do it. Then if they’re not able to be completely independent, modified bikes are a great option!