News article on Lose the Training Wheels

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http://charlotte.com/254/story/74903.html

Learning to ride all on their own

Kids with disabilities take off the training wheels

KIRSTEN VALLE

kvalle@...

Steele Creek --It was the second day of camp, and Brett Moss already knew the drill. He jogged across the gym, gave a staffer a hug and then hopped on a bike, pedaling away in slow circles.

Brett, 16, has shaken baby syndrome. The bike he's riding is equipped with a roller on the back for balance.

And the camp, called Lose the Training Wheels and held at the Sports Connection this week, is meant to teach Brett and the 37 other participants with disabilities to ride bikes on their own.

"I think this is one rite of childhood that all children deserve," said Tammy of Gastonia. Her sons Jack, 12, and Joe, 8, both with autism, are participating.

Klein, a retired engineering professor from the University of Illinois, came up with the idea to use modified bikes to teach kids to ride regular ones about 20 years ago.

A decade later, he turned his focus to children with special needs, and in 2001, he held the first two camps, targeting 6- to 18-year-olds with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities.

Last year, Klein and several staffers held 33 camps in 18 states, where local directors raised money and recruited volunteers.

In Charlotte, donors raised $27,000. The money allowed organizers to buy new bikes for each participant to take home at the end of the week, camp director Jordan said.

During the camp, children use the modified bikes to learn balance and body position. Sometimes they move on to regular bikes by the third day, Klein said.

Learning to ride helps kids feel confident, he said.

It can also have medical benefits. A 2006 University of Michigan study found that children with Down syndrome who went through the program had stronger legs and better balance, Klein said.

Sigman, who joined the program's staff last year when his son, then 13, learned to ride, is a believer.

"For five years, everybody tried to teach him how to ride," he said of , who has autism. "He rides frequently now."

also sleeps better, eats better and does better in school, Sigman said.

Daryll Bird, whose 9-year-old daughter, Sierra, is participating this week, said he's already noticed a change.

"She's rediscovering that she can do anything she wants," he said. "She was a little nervous, but she found she could get around, and she was ready to come a half hour early today."

Most campers are successful at learning to ride without training wheels. Camps that Sigman has worked with in Georgia have had better than 90 percent success rates, he said.

But there are limits. Children who are overweight or have weak legs will find it more difficult to ride, for instance.

"We do many amazing things, but we're not miracle workers," Klein said.

If nothing else, the camp helps children confront their fears, he said.

"It's very spiritual," Klein said. "If you do not believe you can ride a bike, I assure you, you cannot."

As the hour ticked away Tuesday, Brett, the 16-year-old, stopped for a water break and watched the other cyclists circle around him.

He didn't want to get back on the bike. He wandered to a window and pointed outside, then sat again.

"Come on," his spotters said. "Two more laps."

Brett sighed, stood and climbed on the bike. Then, with a smile, he pedaled away.

Qadoshyah