Biking and Independence

Bike riding and Independence

Independence has many different parts.  Today we wanted to talk about independence as it pertains to mobility.  Mobility can be getting to the kitchen, which for many people is a challenge.  Mobility can also be moving within a neighborhood or town.  One of the challenges of some of our friends and family with special needs is being able to move independently through an environment so they can take care of themselves.

As we approach adulthood most of us think of this type of independence as  learning to drive.  For the vast majority of us we learned to ride a bike before we learned to drive.  Learning the rules of the road,  learning to navigate,  learning to multitask in your environment.  These are all skills that are pre-driving skills.  Finding somewhere on your bike instead of being driven gives you a completely different perspective on your life and your independence.  Working on spatial relations as they pertain to our environment,  learning how to “get around” is critical in our ability to become independent.

Although bike riding is a step towards independence we have to acknowledge several other factors.  One is the social aspect.  When your friends are going for a bike ride, going with them is a big deal.  When your friends ride their bikes to school, riding your bike is a big deal.   When you walk a little slower, or run a little slower, riding a bike can allow you to keep up you friends.  Catching the ice cream truck on a hot summer day can leave lasting memories for everyone.

We also need to include family in talking about the social aspect of riding a bike.  We have three children and having all of them “keep up” and go for a family bike ride is important.  Going to the pool with your family on a hot summer day is a beautiful thing.

Second,  there is a huge physical benefit to bike riding.  In addition to the cardiovascular fitness that comes with exercise like bike riding it is also a great tool for balance and strength.  Maintaining a level of fitness at any age is a good thing.

Last, I wanted to mention that although we talk about biking as a “precursor” to driving, the reality is that many of us use bikes to commute instead of cars.

Children all have different aptitudes for different physical activities.  Some disabilities can make learning to bike ride more difficult.  In our case Down’s Syndrome has historically been know for giving kids difficulty with balance.  Specifically it was described as “gravitational insecurity” and we were told that as our daughter grew she may even have trouble going up the stairs one at a time.  There are some good programs for helping with the skills necessary to learn to bike ride, the one we found most helpful was “loose the training wheels”  http://www.losethetrainingwheels.org/  Through Northwest Special Families we are sponsoring a camp for the first week of August.  If you or your child are interested in attending the program please respond for more info.  I have enclosed a brief video to illustrate what this program has done for our family.

Devs Bike ride  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTETQbZo3jk