For many children, riding a bike is a right of passage that we all have been through. But for those with disabilities, this can seem insurmountable. These days there is a large range of specialised bikes and trikes available, if you have the funding. If not, or if your child only needs minor adjustments, you may try your hand at modifying your own standard bike.
In Australia, most states have an organisation known as TAD – Technical Aids for the Disabled. These guys are a group of volunteers who will make all kinds of adaptations for you at cost price. Sadly, there is a long waiting list for their services. So, to get you started, I thought I would start a series of bike posts. One of the easiest adaptations to make to a bike is the pedals.
While you can get all sorts of fancy foot plates, unless your child needs leg guidance, one of the best products out there is a pair of cheap Croc knock-offs, available at many junk shops. poke two small holes in the sole, and cable-tie them to the pedals. Done!
The owner of this specialised bike actually has a set of the official footplates, but does not like them as she cannot put them on by herself. So her mother went and bought these cheap plastic shoes, and cable-tied them to the pedals, and one happy little girl can now get on and off to ride whenever she feels like it!
For the smallest children, up until around 3-4 years, if you combine this tip with a Smart-Trike, you have a nice supportive trike with parent steering for around $200. Even less if you check out your local buy sell pages. You could also cable-tie in some cut down pool noodles for extra support at the sides if necessary. I am trying to get hold of one cheaply so I can adapt it and take photos to post here. I will then donate it to the Aroha Angels loan pool for someone else to get the use of.
The next stage in standard bikes is often a 12″ bike with training wheels which may come with a parent steering handle. for those who can sit on the bike themselves, this may be a nice cheap way to delay the switch to an expensive special needs one. It may also be worth checking your local bike shop to see if they have any wider seats that may be able to be used to give a bit of extra support for those who find the standard seat not stable enough. These are usually not very expensive, and simply bolt onto your standard seat pole.
If you have adapted your child’s bike or trike, I would love to see it! And if you would like to see it shared here, please email me at budget@justjuniorsdisability.com
with each feed consisting of an attempt at breastfeeding, followed by thickened EBM in a Habermann bottle, (because it was thickened it was a real guessing game, as we had to discard what she didn’t drink as it wouldn’t fit down the tube), and then she would finish off with the rest of her feed through the tube. Gradually, we got to the point where she was completely oral by 8 months.
Find the toy you want to operate on. For me, this took longer than the surgery! Samara has a habit of hiding her toys in the strangest places, and I had to check all of them!
Gather your supplies. You will need a thin needle (you will be stitching through the plastic tube, and do not want the resulting holes to be too big), thread in a colour that is not too different to the toy, a pair of scissors, and a g-tube button (you could use an expired one, or even a used one, as you will be cutting off the gross bit). If you have some fray-stop, or clear nail polish, this would also be a good idea. I didn’t have either, but I plan on getting some to be on the safe side.
Cut the tube leaving around 5mm at the top. This is what you will stitch through. Discard the balloon end of the tube.
Prep the patient for surgery. Normally this would have meant giving her a good wash, but I was too impatient!
Make a small an incision as possible to fit the tube through. On Soxy, I just poked a pencil through, and wriggled it around to move the threads aside. But this time, I made a small cut with scissors. this is when you would add some Fray Stop or clear nail polish if you have it to prevent fraying. I briefly considered hot melt glue, but that would leave a granulation ring, and we have enough issues with granulation without inflicting it on the poor doll!
Thread the needle, and tie a knot in the end of both threads. You will be stitching with the threads doubled for strength. as you make your first stitch, loop the needle between the threads to stop the knot popping through the loose weave of the fabric.
Stitch straight through the tube, catching the fabric on both sides. Work your way around the tube, passing through it around 6-8 times. A thimble comes in handy for getting the needle through, although it isn’t too hard as the plastic is very soft. Don’t do too many stitches, as you don’t want to split the plastic.
Once you have stitched all the way around, finish with a triple knot, and thread the loose end of the thread through the body a bit before cutting off, so it doesn’t come undone with rough play.
Give the button a couple of gentle tugs to ensure it is well fastened, then make sure any Fray Stop or nail polish is dry before handing the patient back to her owner.Once you have seen how quick and easy it is to do, you may find your collection begins to grow!
m married to Michael. We have seven daughters Alicia 27, Sara 24, Renata 23, Christiana 21, Bryanna 19, Mahalia 17 and Samara 7, and 2 grandchildren Ashley 3, and Audrey 1. We are from New Zealand, and moved to Australia in July of 2007.
mara due to a loophole in the system, but our fight for Permanent Residency was a long and expensive one, that we finally won in June of 2013.