Help
Hi Everyone
I need help from you all again please but this time on bicycle help.
My son is 4 and a half with left sided hemiplegia. He has a bike with stabilisers however after nearly a year of trying still cant move the bike. He has trouble moving the pedals. He has willed the bike to move telling it come on you can move!
For a parent its heartbreaking and i have been looking at the terrier trike recently.
My thought is he wont look like all his other friends bikes however would he be able to co-ordinate this bike and make it move???
Also do you know if we can get any funding towards this
Any help on this would be greatly received
lisa
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#2
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Posted 17 December 2011 - 04:38 PM
smiler71, on 17 December 2011 - 03:42 PM, said:
Hi Everyone
I need help from you all again please but this time on bicycle help.
My son is 4 and a half with left sided hemiplegia. He has a bike with stabilisers however after nearly a year of trying still cant move the bike. He has trouble moving the pedals. He has willed the bike to move telling it come on you can move!
For a parent its heartbreaking and i have been looking at the terrier trike recently.
My thought is he wont look like all his other friends bikes however would he be able to co-ordinate this bike and make it move???
Also do you know if we can get any funding towards this
Any help on this would be greatly received
lisa
I need help from you all again please but this time on bicycle help.
My son is 4 and a half with left sided hemiplegia. He has a bike with stabilisers however after nearly a year of trying still cant move the bike. He has trouble moving the pedals. He has willed the bike to move telling it come on you can move!
For a parent its heartbreaking and i have been looking at the terrier trike recently.
My thought is he wont look like all his other friends bikes however would he be able to co-ordinate this bike and make it move???
Also do you know if we can get any funding towards this
Any help on this would be greatly received
lisa
hiya
I do believe that there are some charities who can help with funding, but the other parents on here would know more about than me.
Your son is still very young, and while I never learnt to ride a 2 wheeler bike, I always managed the pedals....ok my hemi foot kept falling off, and was weaker and pedaling, but I think you might find if you persevere with the Bike he has, he will get there......with hemi we generally get there just takes more time.......
have you tried getting a grip for his foot, and pushing him along,to get him started then say keep going.....
It was only as I got older I needed a trike, but the pedaling was the Sam whichever Bike.......
hope that helps
have a good christmas
Jane
xx
xx
#3
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Posted 17 December 2011 - 08:27 PM
Hi Lisa,
Just a thought, have you been to a good local bike shop? I ask because a shop like this is likely to be able to spend some time with you, and your son, trying out various size bikes. They can also advise on the best size bike for your son, best weight, tyre size and the correct position. Has he outgrown his bike, or maybe the seat is too low and he is struggling to find any power in the upper leg due to position? At 4 my son was happy to use a large size tricycle in the back garden, it just about fit on the path!)
I would recommend a strap for his toes, but make them yourself out of a medium strength velcro, if he falls off they will be safer than other type straps.
As he gets older/bigger you might try the specialist stabilisers that are available. These enabled my son to ride an ordinary bike up and down our street (I recommend helmet, and especially knuckle and elbow protection) and within a year he had found his balance, aged 10. He got disheartened along the way, but I told him it just takes a little longer. Now he is flying! I never thought I would see the day....now to tackle swimming.
Good luck x
Just a thought, have you been to a good local bike shop? I ask because a shop like this is likely to be able to spend some time with you, and your son, trying out various size bikes. They can also advise on the best size bike for your son, best weight, tyre size and the correct position. Has he outgrown his bike, or maybe the seat is too low and he is struggling to find any power in the upper leg due to position? At 4 my son was happy to use a large size tricycle in the back garden, it just about fit on the path!)
I would recommend a strap for his toes, but make them yourself out of a medium strength velcro, if he falls off they will be safer than other type straps.
As he gets older/bigger you might try the specialist stabilisers that are available. These enabled my son to ride an ordinary bike up and down our street (I recommend helmet, and especially knuckle and elbow protection) and within a year he had found his balance, aged 10. He got disheartened along the way, but I told him it just takes a little longer. Now he is flying! I never thought I would see the day....now to tackle swimming.
Good luck x
#4
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Posted 23 December 2011 - 09:37 PM
smiler71, on 17 December 2011 - 03:42 PM, said:
Hi Everyone
I need help from you all again please but this time on bicycle help.
My son is 4 and a half with left sided hemiplegia. He has a bike with stabilisers however after nearly a year of trying still cant move the bike. He has trouble moving the pedals. He has willed the bike to move telling it come on you can move!
For a parent its heartbreaking and i have been looking at the terrier trike recently.
My thought is he wont look like all his other friends bikes however would he be able to co-ordinate this bike and make it move???
Also do you know if we can get any funding towards this
Any help on this would be greatly received
lisa
I need help from you all again please but this time on bicycle help.
My son is 4 and a half with left sided hemiplegia. He has a bike with stabilisers however after nearly a year of trying still cant move the bike. He has trouble moving the pedals. He has willed the bike to move telling it come on you can move!
For a parent its heartbreaking and i have been looking at the terrier trike recently.
My thought is he wont look like all his other friends bikes however would he be able to co-ordinate this bike and make it move???
Also do you know if we can get any funding towards this
Any help on this would be greatly received
lisa
Hi
Our Granddaughter is 6 with Right sided hemi and like your son couldn't get her bike to move. We took it to the local bike shop and he put on pedals with adjustable toe straps. She can now cycle - albeit with stabilisers - and loves going up and down the road on her bike.
Good Luck
Jane Mc
#5
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Posted 09 January 2012 - 11:26 AM
hi
we got Hope a trike when she was 3 1/2
we had a rep out from jcm http://www.jcmseatin...rikes-momo.html
they come out and see what is right for your child
Hope had a handlebar mit to keep her hemi hand on the handlebar
pedal straps
hip back and chest pads and full harness
they also put the brakes onto the side that she could use better,
the pedals were also set to a ratio that she could pedal easily so that if her hemi leg was tired she could still pedal easily.
at first she found it hard to steer but now she wizzes round with ease.
once we had the written quote we sent photocopies to various charities
(there is a list that comes with the quote)
children today helped us
good luck
anne
x
opps forgot to say the trike is fully adjustable, to last for a good few years
the seat and handlebars adjust the same as any other bike but it also extends length ways and the back wheels also extend outwards for stability as the rest of the trike grows.
we got Hope a trike when she was 3 1/2
we had a rep out from jcm http://www.jcmseatin...rikes-momo.html
they come out and see what is right for your child
Hope had a handlebar mit to keep her hemi hand on the handlebar
pedal straps
hip back and chest pads and full harness
they also put the brakes onto the side that she could use better,
the pedals were also set to a ratio that she could pedal easily so that if her hemi leg was tired she could still pedal easily.
at first she found it hard to steer but now she wizzes round with ease.
once we had the written quote we sent photocopies to various charities
(there is a list that comes with the quote)
children today helped us
good luck
anne
x
opps forgot to say the trike is fully adjustable, to last for a good few years
the seat and handlebars adjust the same as any other bike but it also extends length ways and the back wheels also extend outwards for stability as the rest of the trike grows.
Where there's life, there is Hope...xxx
#7
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Posted 12 April 2012 - 10:37 AM
smiler71, on 17 December 2011 - 03:42 PM, said:
Also do you know if we can get any funding towards this
Hi Lisa, we received funding (and it was quite fast) from The Variety Club for our son's sports trike. It was really cool and grew with him. We'll need to sell ours soon as he's so tall now! (He's 10) Will probably ebay it as the Variety Club told us to sell it and use the money towards the upgraded bike/trike when we were done with it. Will post a link to it here when we get round to it.
We're looking into trying him on a two-wheeler next. It remains to be seen whether he'll manage it but it's worth a try. I think a lot of the time it comes down to the child attitude to risk, and our son is not very keen on that, though he's getting better!
Best of luck,
Tes
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Posted 15 April 2012 - 11:40 AM
Hi there,
Our son Connor is now 8 and has had a theraplay terrier trike for the past three years. It has foot sandals, a back support and 'racer' style handle bar which he found easier to hold. I was very dubious about getting him a trike and it being so different to everyone else but seeing how easy it was for him to pedal it after all the tears (the instant he got on it he was on the move) all my doubts went. It sounds a bit gushy but the pure joy on his face was worth paying ten times over for that trike! He tried and tried with a normal bike but couldn't move the pedals. He had an issue called 'overflow' meaning whenever he tried to push the pedal with his left foot (he is left hemi) his right foot would push harder so the pedals just wouldn't move. Our physio arranged an assessment through a local mobility aids centre. We paid for his trike but lots of charities will help. We have just applied for help with funding to get him a larger trike now from a local charity but were advised to also try Cerebra, local rotary clubs, Lions etc. Hopefully we can sell his old one to put some money towards it. He rides it to school and all his friends think it is really cool. Connor doesn't care that it is different but just loves the freedom and mobility it gives him,
hope this is helpful,
Nicky
Our son Connor is now 8 and has had a theraplay terrier trike for the past three years. It has foot sandals, a back support and 'racer' style handle bar which he found easier to hold. I was very dubious about getting him a trike and it being so different to everyone else but seeing how easy it was for him to pedal it after all the tears (the instant he got on it he was on the move) all my doubts went. It sounds a bit gushy but the pure joy on his face was worth paying ten times over for that trike! He tried and tried with a normal bike but couldn't move the pedals. He had an issue called 'overflow' meaning whenever he tried to push the pedal with his left foot (he is left hemi) his right foot would push harder so the pedals just wouldn't move. Our physio arranged an assessment through a local mobility aids centre. We paid for his trike but lots of charities will help. We have just applied for help with funding to get him a larger trike now from a local charity but were advised to also try Cerebra, local rotary clubs, Lions etc. Hopefully we can sell his old one to put some money towards it. He rides it to school and all his friends think it is really cool. Connor doesn't care that it is different but just loves the freedom and mobility it gives him,
hope this is helpful,
Nicky
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