Riding a bike | Autism PDD
[QUOTE=celebrating]
<FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-
serif" size=3> On the other hand, swimming is coming along
miraculously. It's been completely amazing. He also spent the night at my
parents w/out me for the first time. Ben is almost 7! I think I'll let the bike
riding come or not.
Yep, same with Connor. He had no problems learning to swim when he
was five, and he never flinched about spending the night away from us,
even when he was as young as five or six. He has always loved staying
with my parents or my sister. Later this summer, he will be going to
sleep away camp for the first time (he's 10 1/2). UCLA has a one week
autism camp that is funded by Regional Center. It's suitable for low
functioning to very high functioning kids (Connor). It should be a great
experience for him.
LOL...
I am trying to get Alex (4.5 pdd-nos) to learn to ride a bike (or trike, something with training wheels, I don't care). Yesterday, he rode about 50ft in 15 min. I had to verbally encourage him the whole time. He will pedal for a full rotation or so and then stop. I had to talk him into pedaling again each time. He seemed to like accomplishing the ride, but I'm not so sure he enjoyed the process. This was a very loooong 15 min for me and my blood pressure.
Should I try this again or is he jusy not ready for riding a bike yet? What are your experiences?
Thanks for your input
Suzi T
he got his trike about age 3 and bike about age 4.5, he will be 6 next week.
mine did better when he was able to mimic the neighbor kids riding theirs.
he didn't "get" the pedalling concept until last year.
this is one we didn't push him on and he has taken to it at his own pace and will now ride both his trike and bike w/trainers regularly.
he has actually out grown his bike and will be getting a larger one next week for his B-day and that change will be interesting.
best of luck,
With Gabe he learned to ride a bike by the age of 6. But they did work on it with him alot. He is quite the Evil Knievel on the bike
Tammy I guess it's a good thing Brodey came along. Daddy loves to buy anything with wheels and Brodey is just the same. Cyndie I think Brodey will give me heart failure. We live on a steep hill with a steep drive and the other day Brodey hopped on brothers bigwheel and coasted downhill. He wasn't hurt but it scared me to death and Jared tells me he does it all the time but it's OK because he taught him to steer. BRODEY IS ONLY 18MO OLD! I think I'm in for it! Takoda also hates water I can't get him past the wading pool. Nelle Benjamin did well with a tricycle. he had no interest in a regular bike and there were none training wheels tall enough for him. So i got this big wheel thing that is sized for 6-12 year olds. He loves that it low to the ground. It looks like a hot-rod trike.Riding a bike and skating are very difficult for Connor, and he prefers not
Suzi T, This is something I have been working on with adam. Not a 2 wheel bike (he's only 3), but the pedaling and steering. He has this trike thing that is plastic...you know the kind with pedals and looks like a little bike but is for like toddler/preschoolers? Anyway it seems that the more often I take him out there to try the more improvements he makes and does seem to enjoy it more. At first he would get really frustrated and we would stop. But he would ask to ride it again so I kept taking him out there and it WAS a pain in the butt. When he started getting the pedaling right he would pump the pedals fast and then of course he can't steer so it was right into the curb every time..LOL Poor thing still can't understand why he is hitting the curb. Your right...this is stressful. We are currently taking a break from the outside trike thing because I am due next month and it's just too much for me right now to chase him and what not on that thing. So with it being plastic I brought it in the house so that he can play with it in here. I figure this way maybe he won't forget the motor skills that he has learned thus far if he is still practicing them indoors. He is so different with this than my other two children were but I figure if I keep working on it then maybe in a few years he will be ready for a real bike with training wheels. Then that will be another story all together i'm sure!!! LOL Karrie Cyndie, you are a hoot! i love your term 'crotch rocket'. what lame-brained thought that was a good thing for kids. The kids around here are getting knocked off those things all over the place. i called the cops on a couple of kids riding double on one. Well, I guess I'll be happy that Benjamin is soooo extra cautious. He's not in any hurry to lose a body part.
BIke riding is an activity that my son, Jesse (11, autistic, mostly nonverbal) enjoys tremendously on a very unique and special tandem bike we got used two years ago, the Buddy Bike. He can ride a two wheeler but has no concept of traffic or stop signs, or staying on the right. It was nerve-wracking to go with him. On the old tagalong bike he would let go, not pedal and really space out. On this bike the child sits up FRONT with the adult behind but in total control thanks to specially designed duo handlebars. Jesse and his Dad ride 14 miles every Saturday and Sunday. It has created a very close bond between them. They stop for breakfast and all the waitresses know them! Jesse was getting kind of chubby before from lots of TV and his meds. He is now slim and incredibly fit. We just finished 10 days in Colorado with him and the altitude change (we are from Miami) didn't faze him. He rode with his Dad up and down mountains and all over, laughing and getting tickles and great interaction. I don't want this to sound like an ad but we were so happy with the bike and got so many questions about it that Barry contacted the inventor to find out how to order more. It was out of production and the patent has expired. We wound up buying the patent, reinstating it and starting production again, in Taiwan, where it was made before. I have to say it is not inexpensive but it is very well designed and sturdy, holding up to 380 pounds and not in mass production and may never be. We were already contacted by a large manufacturer but he sells mostly to rental shops.That is a great place and it would be great for tourists and vacationing families but we wanted to be sure the special needs market stayed the main focus so we said no for now. If anyone is interested, You can see the bike online at www.buddybike.com
to do them because he hates all the falling involved. He has a very subtle
inner ear balance issue (perhaps from all of the toddler ear infections),
and it's just enough to throw his body off when he tries to gain the
necessary balance for these activities. We've stopped pushing it. There
are worse things in life than not knowing how to ride a bike.
It was very interesting to me to hear that some kids with ADHD and
autism had some of the same problems riding
bike. they tend to look off to the
side instead of ahead, have poor motor planning, poor balance and
trouble letting their feet leave the ground. It
isn't so hard to understand that swimming seems to come
easier. The water helps support the body and
movements in the water tend to be slower because of the water
resistance. Some kids also have trouble just feeling
where they are in space......in the water they can feel it nad
see the water all around them.
Jacob and Bryce did practice a little bit on a stationery bike, which
helped get the peddaling, but putting it all together on a real bike
was difficult. Just be patient! If
you are getting stressed about it then take a break from it for a
while,
break it down in small steps and be happy when he gets each little step!
Good luck! Now that Jacob is riding his bike it
is hard for him to understand he can not just go off and ride like his
older brother! We live near a
highway.....always one of my biggest fears! bonnie
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