Adaptive bikes offer health, social benefits for children with special needs

HIAWATHA - Children with autism, cerebral palsy or other conditions oftentimes miss out on one of child hood's formative experiences.

Balance problems or tightness in arm and leg muscles can put bike-riding out of reach for these youths, but using an adapted bicycle turns the impossible into reality.

The three-wheeled bikes resemble tricycles, with a wider base for balance and back supports and straps for safety.

Suzie Johannes, senior physical therapist at St. Luke's Witwer Children's Therapy in Hiawatha, said riding a bike offers benefits of exercise that the children - many of whom use walkers - otherwise could not achieve.

"It's difficult to work hard enough to get that heart pumping, but they can do that on a bike," she said.

Twins Nick and Gwen Johnson of Cedar Rapids, diagnosed with cerebral palsy after being born three months premature, have been riding their adapted bikes three years.

The towheaded 9-year-olds can go as fast as they please on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. That's a contrast especially for Gwen, who uses a walker.

Other children who use the bikes might have Downs syndrome or spina bifida. The exercise helps improve their range of motion, strength and cardiovascular endurance.

Social interaction is another benefit.

Research has measured the physical effects of using adapted bicycles. A study by Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis also illustrated those less tangible benefits.

A comment by one participant's mother noted her son's bike changed his life. "He is now one of the kids on the block, not just a handicapped boy sitting and watching his friends ride around the area," she wrote.

Johannes started a group bicycle ride to extend those benefits.

Five to six children with their families meet on Saturday mornings to ride the trails together. One of the bicyclists, Ruston Scott, 16, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

His mother, Deanna Scott of Marion, said balance problems prohibit him from riding a standard bike.

The bikes cost $800 to $1,300, making them unaffordable for many people.

Health insurance covered the bikes for the twins, said their father, Joel Johnson. But most insurance no longer covers adaptive bicycles.

An adapted bike fund through St. Luke's Health Care Foundation helped the Scott family purchase a bike for Ruston.

Johannes said 11 children received a bike with help from the foundation in the last two years.

Five are on a waiting list.

Those are just the families aware of the fund. Many more children likely could benefit from an adapted bike, she said.

The foundation contributes up to $1,000.

Earlier this year, the foundation received a $4,000 grant from the Dominick McDermott Trust, but the fund has already been depleted and the foundation is looking for other contributors.

"Every kid deserves their very own bike," Deanna Scott said.

"Childhood is not really complete without it."