Looking for a special bike….
February 5, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Natasha Gellatly left this query on an earlier post, Summer Safety for Autistic Childre:
i am looking for a bike for my 9 year old autistic brother who finds it difficult to ride a 2 wheeled bike even with stabilisers. i have been told there is one available and have searched everywhere to find one with no luck. can you help me? email n_gellatly@hotmail.com
I am not sure what kind of bike Natasha is referring to—please email her directly or post any information in the comments to this post and I will be sure that she receives it. Thank you!
She will be wanting a big trike. I’m trying to get an adult trike, but the prices are a bit out of my league for now. They are often available from disability equipment companies.
I’ve seen those at Abilitations.com—-will forward the information; thank you!
We bought a Trailmate Joyrider for Amigo two summers ago, when he was 13. It’s a recumbent 3-wheeler. I will email her with the idea. They are expensive, though. We had financial assistance from a local organization to buy ours.
http://www.fatwheels.com
According to the website “Our training wheels are much more stable, durable, and offer much less rolling resistance than traditional training wheels, making them the first choice for safety conscious parents, regardless of the riding surface. Our products have also enabled many children AND ADULTS with special needs to ride a bike!”
These wheels are very thick compared with training wheels and make the base much wider. They are placed on a regular two-wheeler and are in the $100 range (some 3-wheelers for older children and adults can cost as much as $1000, so she might want to try these first if money is an issue). Also, because they’re put on a regular bike, they will look less different from other kids bikes which is always good socially.
I was wondering how you receive financial assistance to buy a bicycle for a handicapped child. The one we are thinking of-may be the Trailmate Joyrider.
i am Natasha’s sister, thank you to everyone who have posted something for us. we are currently raising money for our little brother, by ‘growing a tash’ for a month. we know that it will be expensive for the bike but it is our brothers wish to have a bike and we want to make that wish come true.
again we would like to thank everyone who posted their comments. we’ll keep you posted on how we got on.
xxx thank you xxx
Dear Kayleighh,
Thank you for posting about your brother—what kind of bike are you hoping to purchase for him? Hope it can be gotten in time for the summer months…..
Best wishes from Kristina Chew
It’s a trike we are looking for, they are on http://www.bikemania.biz but we have found one locally! we are half way to having the money for the bike (and fingers crossed maybe even the helmet and pads!) so we are hoping that this summer will be full of laughs and smiles!
Wish us luck
I am autistic. I am a 48 year old adult. I have no sense of balance at all. I could never master a two wheel bike. I got a three wheel bike. As a nine year old the bike I suggest is likely still too big for him. But when he gets older if he still wants and or needs a bike look at the bike below. I have one and I absolutely love it.
http://www.worksman.com/pav.html
Its called a Personal Activity Vehicle or PAV. Like I say they are very expensive and a bit big for him now at age nine unless he is a BIG DUDE! But later on as he gets older and heavier this bike should do him fine as a strudy easy to ride transport system. Best of all you need no sense of balance just strong legs and great lungs. If you lack these to begin with you won’t for long.
Nice—thanks much!
Though not as cool-looking as many recumbent three-wheelers, a quick froogle search (I used the key words adult tricycle) will reveal what I call a Mr. McFeeley (from Mr. Rogers) bike for about $250.
It’s called a Schwinn Meridian; the link is to Amazon. It may be a bit big for a 9-year-old, but further research may find a smaller one.
My mom is actually buying my brother one as a trial before buying one of the very expensive ones — to see if he’ll really ride it daily, etc.
I know what this special bike is. It is a KMX Kart
http://www.kmxkarts.co.uk
Similar problem, but with my son who is also 9. We are currently looking at the Green Machine (huffy)… 3 wheels, low to the ground, fairly inexpensive and I thought they were great fun as a child.