Training wheels no more

By Jeremiah Tucker, Sauk Prairie Eagle

 

Traci Schutt lets go of the handle on the back of her daughter’s bike so that Emily is in complete control.

Traci begins to count. 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... She makes it to 14 this time before Emily’s purple Trek bike begins to wobble, and she has to grab the handle to steady it.

A few weeks ago these few seconds of independence didn’t seem possible.

"We just didn’t think she’d be able to do it, but Emily was making hints about other kids in the neighborhood riding their bikes," Traci said.

Emily was born with Noonan Syndrome, a congenital genetic condition that affects her balance and muscle tone.

At nine-years-old she still had training wheels on her bike when other kids her age were zipping around unassisted on two-wheels.

Not long after Emily began expressing dissatisfaction with her training wheels, Traci, a member of an e-mail list for parent’s raising children with Noonan Syndrome, saw a question another parent had posted.

"She asked, ‘Have any of you been successful getting kids to learn to ride a bike without training wheels?" Traci said.

Someone responded, recommending Lose the Training Wheels, a national program that travels to different cities hosting one-week courses that teach children with disabilities to ride bikes.

Traci looked into it and discovered the Madison Area Down Syndrome Society would be sponsoring the program June 15 through 19 at the high school in Oregon.

A few days later Emily was signed up, nabbing one of the final two spots.

"Each of the kids certainly have their own individual issues, but generally speaking kids with disabilities, specifically cognitive disabilities, have problems with balance, motor training and endurance," said Andrea Wipperfurth, executive director of the Madison Area Down Syndrome Society. "And often times, because of past failures and accidents, they have a lot more anxiety and fear about riding a bike."

During the program, the parents weren’t allowed to be in the room in order to give the children less distractions, and the 34 enrolled kids learned to ride on special adapted bikes with rollers instead of wheels that teach them balance while lessening the probability of tipping.

As their skill levels progressed, subtle changes were made to the bikes that ratcheted up the difficulty and eased the kids into mastery of a conventional two-wheel bike.

Wipperfurth said that at the end of the week, 30 of the 34 kids were riding bikes unassisted.

Scott said Emily was the youngest enrolled in the program, and while she couldn’t quite ride without help at the end of the week, her skills increased dramatically.

The Lose the Training Wheels program also took the time to go to a local bike store and recommend to Scott and Traci what they thought would be the perfect bike for Emily.

Now, Traci said, they take Emily out a couple times a day for a spin on her new bike.

Walking behind her in their cul de sac, Traci teases Emily, calling her a "Sunday driver" for her leisurely pace.

Emily also has a tendency to veer into neighbors’ driveways, but it’s clear she loves riding a bike that, like her older sister Hannah’s, doesn’t have training wheels.

Smiling, Emily describes how much easier it is going up hills without training wheels.

"I could go really fast," she says.

For more information: Visit www.madss.org for area programs available for Down Syndrome youths