Adapted Bikes

Adapted Bikes Product List

Types of Adapted Bikes

Adapted Bikes for Persons with Special Needs

Laws and Policies

Bike Course Manual

Related Documents

One Patient's Story

Pedal Power Program

Riley Hospital for Children's Community Education and Child Advocacy Department has created the Pedal Power program as a resource to parents, health care and rehabilitation professionals, and community leaders to help change attitudes and current practices and support awareness and action to help connect children with disabilities to the opportunity to ride bikes.  Every child should have the chance to enjoy bicycling and to do so safely. You can help make this goal possible by using the Pedal Power program education resources.

Our Pedal Power program education resources include the following:

1. Power point presentation #1 for professionals that provides a detailed overview of the types of adapted bikes available and illustrates the presentation of a bike safety course for children with disabilities.
2. Power point presentation #2 for parents and the general public that helps to generate awareness of adapted bikes and the importance of providing children with disabilities a chance to learn about and practice bike safety.
3. Product listing of commercially available adapted bikes with manufacturer contact information
4. Pedal Power manual #1 for professionals that provides tools, resources, and information that can be used for development of a hospital or rehabilitation center-based adapted bike program.
5. Pedal Power manual #2 for parents and the general public that encourages their efforts to advocate for adapted bikes and bike safety education for all children.
6. The Riley Riders and Striders Bike Manual that offers guidelines and resources for planning and presenting a bike safety course for all children.

If you download and use any of these education resources, please give us feedback to help us continue to monitor the effectiveness of our tools and resources. Let us know the usefulness of these resources in meeting your needs by emailing kids1st@iupui.edu.

If you are a parent or if you are part of an organization wanting to help a child obtain an adapted bike and bike helmet and/or want to encourage the offering of bike safety courses for all children in your community, the following list of action steps is offered to be able to put some of the Pedal Power program education resources to work:

THREE STEPS TO PEDAL POWER

(For assistance in the below process, interested Indiana Kiwanis Clubs should call 877-883-5974 or email indkiw@indkiw.org)

STEP 1: IDENTIFY A CHILD, ADAPTED BIKE AND BIKE HELMET

ASK- what child in your community needs an adapted bike?

1. Who do you know in your community who has a child with special needs who could use an adapted bike?
2. Where does the child go to school?
3. What schools in your community serve children with special needs? What schools in your community does your organization support already and where you might go to ask about children needing adapted bikes?

People to go to for help: Principals, Directors of Special Education, School Therapists, Parents/Friends who have school-aged children

IDENTIFY - what adapted bike and bike helmet is needed?

1. Who provides therapy for the child needing an adapted bike? A local therapist or local physical therapist/occupational therapist working with the child with special needs is the most qualified person to determine what type of adapted bike a child needs.
2. If a child currently is seen at Riley Hospital, tell the child?s family to ask their Riley Hospital therapist to identify an adapted bike for them that can be ordered locally by the organization funding the bike.

People to go to for help: School-based therapist, local therapist, Riley Hospital therapist.

Information that can help: Share the listing of adapted bikes, located here, with the child's family and child's therapist as a resource for identifying a bike to meet the child's needs.

PURCHASE - properly fitted bike helmet for child

1. Ask the child's therapist or parent to provide the head circumference measurement for the child to determine what size of bike helmet to purchase.
2. Visit a local bike shop or retail store with the child and child's family to select and purchase a properly fitted bike helmet for the child.
3. Or: connect with local child safety educators in your community for advice (see www.preventinjury.org/ISKCchapters.asp for a list of Indiana SAFE KIDS Coalitions and Chapters). Purchase a bike helmet based on information about the circumference of the child's head to have available for presentation of the adapted bike to the child.

For more information, see:

STEP 2: RAISE FUNDS, ORDER, RECEIVE, AND ASSEMBLE ADAPTED BIKE

RAISE FUNDS - to support the purchase and shipping of an adapted bike and purchase of a bike helmet

1. Consider working with other clubs or organizations in your community to raise needed funds to purchase an adapted bike and bike helmet
2. Consider putting together a flyer to show potential funders what the adapted bike looks like that the child needs and how much the bike costs.

ORDER AND RECEIVE - the adapted bike

1. Determine who orders and who receives the bike (i.e. child's school, church, local club).
2. When the order is placed, ask for a projected delivery date to help your organization plan the date and time to present the bike and the bike course for the child and classmates and/or friends.

ASSEMBLE --- the adapted bike

1. Work with the child's local therapist to verify that all parts of the bike have been received.
2. Involve someone from your organization who can assemble bikes and the child's family in the assembly of the adapted bike. Suggested option: The child's therapist can serve as a resource to your organization and the child's family, if needed, for them to ask any questions about how to assemble the bike at the point of delivery at the school, church, or a local organization.

For more information, see:

STEP 3: PRESENT, TEACH, AND ADVOCATE

1. Present the child's adapted bike and bike helmet as part of a regularly scheduled meeting of your club or organization.  Ask the child's family first if they are comfortable with any media coverage of this presentation before contacting your local media.
2. Or:  present the adapted bike and bike helmet at the child's school, church, or youth group.  Involve the child?s friends, family, and teachers in the presentation, perhaps at an already scheduled event (i.e. picnic, party, meeting, school event).

Note:  When a child receives an adapted bike, it is important for him to immediately learn about bike safety and to practice bike control skills.  Scheduling and presenting a bike safety course on the same day or soon after is an important step for helping the child to learn how to ride safely and properly.
 
TEACH - the child and friends or classmates about bike safety

1. Recruit teens from local youth organizations to set up and present the bike safety course.  Possible groups to contact include:
   • Key Clubs, Circle K Clubs, 4-H, Family Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), Future Farmer's of America (FFA), and Scouts.
2. Click here to download Riley Hospital's Bike Course Manual, which provides information, resources, and education materials for planning, setting up, and presenting a bike safety course for all children or call 1-888-365-2022 for information about training teens to be bike safety educators for all children.
3. Invite children from the child's family, school, church, and/or neighborhood to participate in the bike safety course.

1. Tell everyone that all children can ride bikes and learn about and practice bike safety.  Invite local media to provide coverage of your organization presenting the adapted bike and bike safety course.
2. Call Riley Hospital for Children's Community Education and Child Advocacy Department at 1-888-365-2022 (toll free) or visit kids1st@iupui.edu to tell us about the children and families you help with an adapted bike and bike safety course.
3. Consider sponsoring bike safety courses on a regular recurring basis for all children in your community, including children who ride adapted bikes, wheelchairs, and/or scooters.
4. Use or share information about the Pedal Power education resources on adapted bikes on the Riley Hospital web site (www.rileyhospital.org/kids1st).  These resources include power point presentations and resource manuals for parents and professionals and an adapted bike product listing.

For more information, see: