Classes teach kids with disabilities to ride bikes

Maria Meyer loves to skate, ski, jump rope and play soccer.

But the 10-year-old hadn't mastered riding a bike without training wheels and it was "driving her nuts," said Janet Meyer, Maria's mom.

The little Hinsdale girl with long blond hair and Down syndrome dearly wanted to keep up with her older siblings. And halfway into a special one-week camp, she was already tooling around the Montini Catholic High School gym in Lombard on a purple two-wheeler with two volunteers running alongside her.

The camp is a joint venture between Easter Seals DuPage and the Fox Valley Region and Lose the Training Wheels, a Delaware not-for-profit group.

"Our mission is to teach people with disabilities how to ride conventional bikes," said Tammy Burt, professor of adapted physical activity at Ball State University in Indiana.

Riding a bike without training wheels is a joyous rite of passage for most kids. But it's a struggle for some children with disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy or Down syndrome. They might have trouble with balance or lack the muscle tone needed to pedal hard and fast.

And it turns out, for these kids at least, training wheels - which encourage side-to-side movement - are counterproductive.

"When you ride with training wheels you learn a motion pattern that is not as easily unlearned for a child with disabilities," said Lisa Alfonsi, Easter Seals occupational therapist. "We're teaching the proper body movements from the beginning."

The program uses adapted bikes developed by Richard Klein, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana.

Lose the Training Wheels uses a system of metal rollers attached to the back of the bike. Children start out with a flat roller, almost like a rolling pin. Each time the roller is switched, the new one is a little more tapered, gradually increasing the tippiness of the bike. Gears are also switched out to allow the bike to go faster as the child's confidence and skills improve.

About 80 to 85 percent of the children are riding a bike by the end of the week, Burt said.

"Everybody comes in at a different level and we see improvement every day," she said.

More than 50 camps were held around the country this summer, including two in DuPage County - in Lombard at Montini and in Wheaton at St. Francis High School. Both schools donated the space. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and CVS Caremark supported the program with grants.

Volunteers run alongside the bikers, providing encouragement and a feeling of safety. Some children have been reluctant to try to bike because they are so afraid of falling.

The energetic, enthusiastic volunteers at the Montini session ranged from high school students to a whole team from the United Parcel Service hub in Addison. It feels good "to know that you're helping out and making a difference," said Don Jackson, a UPS transportation manager.

To be eligible for bike camp, children must be 8 to 17 years old and meet some requirements, such as the ability to side step at a quick rate and to pay attention to directions.

Evan Fehring, who just turned 12, has cerebral palsy. Last summer he told his mother he was embarrassed to still be riding a three-wheel bike.

He's a bright kid who usually doesn't let things get him down, so "that really got to me," said his mother, Michele Fehring. "I thought, 'Oh, we're going to have to take care of this.'"

The Glen Ellyn boy attended the Wheaton camp this summer. Fehring can't say enough about the staff's patience and the individualized attention.

"He was the last in his class to get up on two wheels," she said. "I had a feeling it was not going to happen, and it did. I never dreamed he'd be able to ride a bike. Oh, my, my, my."

Since then Evan's been biking around a couple of church parking lots to practice - and his skills are improving every day, his mom said.

"He's doing great."

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