Re: hypotonia: riding a tricycle

[Guest guest]

We had this. Leg strength was the issue. It did get better over time,

with TLP and the rest. One thing that may help is a rocking horse

indoors or the igallop.

>

> My 4.5yo has apraxia, and hypotonia. He get hippotherapy once a week

> for hypotonia. He is active around the house and we go to playground

> frequently.

>

> He rides his tricycle inside the house with no problems( wood floor)

> but has tough time doing so in the sidewalk or park (because of his

> hypotonia, I assumed). Does anyone else have similar experiences?

> Any way to make his ride easier/more enjoyable outside?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My daughter is 5 1/2 with apraxia and hypotonia also, it took a while

for her to be able to ride a tricyle. Our OT suggested getting her a

big wheel. She said it would help and it did. It was much easier for

her to navigate. Although, she never seemed to be able to ride a

tricylce too well. She now is beginning riding a regular bike with

training wheels.

Good luck.

>

> My 4.5yo has apraxia, and hypotonia. He get hippotherapy once a

week

> for hypotonia. He is active around the house and we go to playground

> frequently.

>

> He rides his tricycle inside the house with no problems( wood floor)

> but has tough time doing so in the sidewalk or park (because of his

> hypotonia, I assumed). Does anyone else have similar experiences?

> Any way to make his ride easier/more enjoyable outside?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

most kids with hypotonia and verbal apraxia also have some motor

planning issues in the body as well. So it may not just be a weakness

thing -but a motor planning one. Below are a few archives on this as

this topic came up not that long ago. And PS -as they say in that Bugs

Bunny cartoon we all have to " shut up shutting up " if nobody wants to

talk about ___ anymore!

Re: How do you teach a child with apraxia and dyspraxia to ride

tricycle?

I suggest you look at http://www.losethetrainingwheels.org They have

very

helpful suggestions (including bike recommendations), and they offer

camps.

Can your son ride a big wheel? My kids have low tone, so they tire

easily while riding. A big wheel is easier to ride. For a trike, I

suggest you look at some Kettler tricycles. They are expensive, but I

don't think the pedals will flip around easily. My daughter had a

Kettler.

Re: How do you teach a child with apraxia and dyspraxia to ride

tricycle?

Hi My 5 y/o daughter has apraxia (mild CP only diagnosed at 4 & 1/2

y/o...low tone so gross/fine motor impairment).Her PT tied surgical

tubing to her radio flyer tricycle to keep her foot in place. The

tubing stayed on and we would slip her feet in.It worked.She can ride

but still chooses the big wheel.Next to tackle are pedal brakes .She

hates them so she hates her 2 wheeler w/training wheels.Any

suggestions with that? Good luck ...

Elaine

Re: [ ] Re: How do you teach a child with apraxia and

dyspraxia to ride tricycle?

Actually,

That is the point I am trying to make.... at 4, 5, 6 our kids are NOT

that far

behind their peers. BUT.... they become further and further behind as

they age.

The things that you teach them now will stick forever like glue into

their

sensory motor planning. Dyspraxic kids who learn how to ride a bike

early....

ride bikes forever. Those who don't.... seldom do. Kids who begin the

process

at 6 or 7 are late and really struggle. If they do learn, the process

is very,

very difficult.

I have Mark go-carting in preparation for driving NOW. I won't wait

until he is

16 and has to get behind the wheel. I take him go-carting and do all I

can to

get this life-skill into his sensory motor cortex because I want him to

drive.

Now, I have seen many examples of dyspraxics who drive but I have seen

equal

numbers of those who don't. So, I take him to the go-cart place and let

him

rock-and-roll that track. He actually has done pretty good so far but

if he hit

a few tires.... so what? Better to hit a few tires with a go-cart then

to crash

in a real car! We need to be 5-10 years ahead of our kids and set them

up for

success in any way we can. Visual spatial stuff combined with motor

planning is

a BIG deal.

Janice

[sPAM][ ] Re: How do you teach a child with

apraxia

and dyspraxia to ride tricycle?

Dana I have a 4 year old typically developing son that only just

mastered riding his bike with training wheels in past few months.

The coordination it took to balance, pedal, steer and look at where

he was going was very hard for him too. Now he rides like he's been

doing it for years, but we worked hard for about a year to get him

to this point. My back still hurts from bending over and pushing him

while he steered! ) We may forget that even normally developing

children have a hard time with the same things that apraxic children

may have a hard time with. I hope this helps you feel a little

better about things because I know our children have their

challenges, but at three your children may not be that far behind in

the bike skills!!!

Kate

>

>

> I have been told that learning to ride a tricycle would be very

beneficial for my boys because it helps with wiring in the brain.

The problem is all tricycles that we see in the store have pedals

that flip around and my boys feet won't stay on them to teach them

the act of riding the tricycle. They also seem to have lack of

interest or focus. So, how do you teach this skill since it is so

beneficial?

>

> Thanks,

>

>

> Dana

Re: Thanks for replies!!! How do you teach a child with apraxia and

dyspraxia to ride tricycle?

Hi Dana!

I could be wrong but wouldn't the Smart Cycle be more of an (watered

down version) exercise bike/video game (educational) - while the

other is a play bike where your child can ride anywhere outside and

also learn about balance at the same time? Don't get me wrong -the

Smart Cycle looks like something any parent should get as it's an

educational video game that gets the children moving -and moving is a

problem for today's youth. Too many children are out of shape and

overweight which is probably the undertone of the marketing to the

main focus of educational. Just did a quick search and found this

The TV bike: A cure for child obesity or excuse for lazy parents?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?

in_article_id=4670\

73 & in_page_id=1770

Did you let your children try to ride the one you bought at the

store? Perhaps it's just me but for 20 dollars I'd keep the one in

the box too and if they didn't know how -teach my boys how to ride

that one. If you can get your boys onto a mainstream bike -don't go

with the adaptive ones yet. You may not need it anyway as your boys

are still so young and their issue may still be developmental and not

due to motor planning issues.

LRE -least restrictive environment doesn't just apply to school.

=====

[Guest guest]

My son had difficulty on his trike as well. We purchased adaptive pedals (they

are a bit expensive)r it at www.equipmentshop.com and he used those for a few

years. They also sell back supports and belts for tricycles. My son is almost

7 years old and is now having a difficult time with the two wheeler, due to his

tone. We purchased a tandem that attaches to my husband's bike and then added

these giant 10 " training wheels called Fatwheels, a larger seat and attached a

lap belt loosely to it just to remind him to right himself if he is leaning to

far to one side. Now he can go on family rides with us without any fear. Hope

this helps.

-------------- Original message --------------

From: " nancymark111 " <nancymark111@...>

My 4.5yo has apraxia, and hypotonia. He get hippotherapy once a week

for hypotonia. He is active around the house and we go to playground

frequently.

He rides his tricycle inside the house with no problems( wood floor)

but has tough time doing so in the sidewalk or park (because of his

hypotonia, I assumed). Does anyone else have similar experiences?

Any way to make his ride easier/more enjoyable outside?

[Guest guest]

>

> My son had difficulty on his trike as well. We purchased adaptive

pedals (they are a bit expensive)r it at www.equipmentshop.com and he

used those for a few years. They also sell back supports and belts

for tricycles. My son is almost 7 years old and is now having a

difficult time with the two wheeler, due to his tone. We purchased a

tandem that attaches to my husband's bike and then added these giant

10 " training wheels called Fatwheels, a larger seat and attached a

lap belt loosely to it just to remind him to right himself if he is

leaning to far to one side. Now he can go on family rides with us

without any fear. Hope this helps.

>

>

>

> -------------- Original message --------------

> From: " nancymark111 " <nancymark111@...>

> My 4.5yo has apraxia, and hypotonia. He get hippotherapy once a week

> for hypotonia. He is active around the house and we go to playground

> frequently.

>

> He rides his tricycle inside the house with no problems( wood floor)

> but has tough time doing so in the sidewalk or park (because of his

> hypotonia, I assumed). Does anyone else have similar experiences?

> Any way to make his ride easier/more enjoyable outside?

>

>

>

> My little girl 4 has never had a problem riding trikes and this

summer we bought a training wheel bike. Within 1 month she was riding

the neighbors bike without training wheels. She doesen't seem to have

any problems other than talking.

>

>

>