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Laughing and having a sense of humor, can be the perfect medicine.
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Doing Wheelies!
By: Renata Bursten, Dragonfly Staff
Finding a great therapeutic bike for a child with special needs.
Hitting the open road on your snappy new bike this summer? Biking is a rich source of fun and exercise for the entire family. Great new models of adapted cycles ensure that the whole family can get on the road to fun and fitness.
,Most children who have physical impairments can still enjoy safe and comfortable cycling - as long as the proper therapeutic bike is chosen. Some key concerns when choosing adapted bikes are:
Q: Can my child sit upright alone? If not, then look for special torso support from the seat.
Q: Can my child make the reciprocal (bicycling) motion with their legs while seated upright? Perhaps straps on the pedals are enough to keep the feet on the pedals throughout the entire trip around. If we need more help, then a Journey model provides incredible torso support, and it shifts the angle of the reciprocating leg motion towards that back where many children can handle it better.
Q: Is my child not using their legs for cycling? Then look instead to their arms for providing the drive, using a hand cycle like the Expedition. The hand driven Expedition can provide a terrific cycling experience and it is a great vehicle for upper body strength development.
Today's amazing new cycles provide unlimited potential for family fun and exercise. Specially designed cycles allow everyone to take part in this popular activity.
Remember, never leave a child unattended in their cycle! And everyone should wear a good helmet and full protective gear!
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PLAY Tip
Concepts: Things that Go Together
Matching things that go together is a challenging cognitive skill for children with developmental delays to learn. It involves making a leap from, "this ball is the same as this ball", to "the ball and the bat go together". Things That Go Together uses clearly illustrated two piece puzzles to help children master this important developmental concept. The difficulty level can be adjusted by presenting either more or less options. For example: Does the fish go with the fishing rod or the tree? You can keep adding more choices to make the difficulty level match your child's level of learning.