On the weekend a friend of our organised for us to go to a friend of hers house. So that Bugs could have a go on a bike. Bug sits on a bike. He can steer, he can kind of move the pedals - but he just can't put all those things together. He either drives straight into a fence, or stops pedalling and steers.
In other words he has motor planning issues.
We recently got him a scooter after seeing him grab at another kids, and try and get on.
He can steer a scooter, and push it along, but can't balance on it at all, so he can't hold his foot up and glide like you see kids. Seeing him try however, and in the beginning have fun, was so nice to see.
We took him to the tennis courts, so he can't ride off anywhere, or steer onto a road or something.
He had a great time until he tired and became a little frustrated.
Bugger it, I'll just drag it!
Anyhow, on the weekend I wasn't sure what to expect. We had been talking with my friend about a tagalong bike, or something else that Bugs could enjoy with someone else riding it. Turns out she knew of someone with a child with special needs with a modified bike. I didn't really know what to expect - but I didn't expect this - check it out!
There we are - riding a bike! Together. Pretty cool. The best thing about the bike was that firstly I could see him, he wasn't behind me. Secondly, because of the way the bike works he could feel the steering. If I turned left his handles would turn left. It could in some ways teach him how to ride and give him the feeling of riding. Also the pedals had stirrups so you could pretty much strap his feet on the pedals if need be. The cheeky guy did let me do ALL the work. But the smile on his face was worth it. The downside of this bike - the price tag. Apparently it costs nearly $2000.
I've done a bit of a search since on bikes for special needs. There are some pretty amazing bikes out there.
We may have turned a few heads with our strange bike -
but it felt pretty good to go on my first bike ride with the little guy.
# UPDATE# Just read through this and my how things change. It's now December and one of Bug's favourite things to do is ride a scooter - he even got a better one for Christmas - he steers, he balances and he scoots around like crazy. Bikes are still a problem, but he sure loves his scooter . #
