Learning to ride a bike is a big milestone for any kid, but a week-long camp is teaching kids with special needs the same skills to get them on the same playing field.
“These are kids who have been identified as having some challenges developmentally or physically and have not, in a traditional way, learned how to ride a bike,” said Linda Kenny, CEO of KidsAbility.
“If you think about a family that might have several children in it and two of those children can ride a bike and one can’t — now all of a sudden all three can ride a bike? Think of what a difference that is.”
KidsAbility’s I Can Bike camp was held every weekday this past week at the West End Community Centre.
“For many kids, learning to ride a bike independently is a huge milestone. For the kids we are working with this week, this is a milestone they have not yet achieved. So these are children that need just that extra little bit of help in order to be able to do that,” said Kenny.
They begin to ride on an adapted bike that has a wide roller in place of the back wheel to get kids used to balancing and riding a bicycle. Kenny likens it to a rolling pin.
“As the week goes on, the rolling pin gets smaller so they get used to the motion of the bike, but there is still a volunteer attached to the bike by a big handle to keep them from falling,” she said.
By the end of the week, said Kenny, about 85 per cent of the kids are able to ride a regular, two-wheeled bicycle.
“It is life changing for families. Kids have this mobility they didn’t used to have,” said Kenny. “Many of these families thought that would never be possible for them.”
Jocelyne Bridle brought her eight-year-old son Jonny to this week’s camp.
By Friday, Jonny was riding his own bicycle without the help of the roller wheels he relied on earlier in the week.
“I have seen a real sense of pride in him, especially the first day that he got out and was riding,” said Bridle. “That look of pride and the big smile on his face is what makes it worth it. It’s hard for me not to get emotional saying that.”
She is looking forward to Jonny riding to school with his older brother or just hanging out with friends.
“That will be monumental for him to feel truly like a member of the group and just being able to ride with us as a family — it’s a big stepping stone for him,” said Bridle.
The volunteers for the program are especially important, said Kenny, as each of the 39 children who attended this week’s camp had one-on-one time with a volunteer.
“One of the biggest challenges we have with this program is finding enough volunteers. This is hard work. You’re running for 75 minutes,” said Kenny.
The program tries to keep the same volunteer with the same kid over the week, to build trust with the child, but also to show the volunteers how much of a difference they have made in just one week.
Most of the volunteers tend are young people over the age of 15, but Stacey Weber and her husband each took the week off of work with the kids.
“It’s been really rewarding and satisfying to see how much kids are able to change and the confidence and independence that they gain over a few days,” said Weber.
Volunteers do a lot of running as they hold a handle attached to the bike to prevent kids from falling. By the fifth day Weber said there is a lot less running because she only had to help her student to get started before she was able to start and stop on her own.
“There’s parents in tears who are just thrilled for them,” said Weber.
Kenny said the cost to parents for the week was kept low due to sponsorship by Colonial Cookies in Kitchener and McDonald’s in Guelph.
Jennifer Antolin, owner operator of four McDonald’s restaurants in Guelph, stopped by a number of times during the week.
Antolin said the McDonald’s restaurants in Guelph support a number of charities, including Sunrise Therapeutic Riding, Ronald McDonald House South Central Ontario and KidsAbility. She funded this week’s I Can Bike sponsorships to the tune of $9,000.
“It’s very empowering to be able to do something on your own, to be able to jump on your bike and ride to the corner store,” said Antolin. “For me, it’s very heart-warming to see how quickly we can make that happen through this camp.”
The KidsAbility 'I Can Bike' camp rotates each year between Guelph, Kitchener and Cambridge.
Kenny said she loves to stand back and watch the emotion reaction of families as the children gain confidence on their bicycle.
I have a hard time not crying when I am talking to a parent with the tears streaming down their face,” she said.
