Ride a bike?

[CarolineJ]

Can your child ride a bike? If not, why do you think this is?

 

Can your child tie shoelaces?

 

I'm asking for all of your children.

 

My 9 year old NT daughter learned to ride her bike at 6 1/2. She learned to tie shoelaces before that.

 

My 7 year old AS son can ride a bike, in his own fashion. If he looks one way, the bike goes that way too! His bike gets wrecked within a few days of having it and he's constantly injured, but we tried really hard to teach him to ride because it's a huge thing amongst the children on this patch of houses. It's helped him to fit in some. He too learned to ride at 6. He just learned to tie a knot today, so we have started on the route to learning to tie laces, though it's not something we're worried about.

 

My 6 year old daughter taught herself to ride at 5! lol I have no idea if she can tie laces yet. She never wears them.

[Enid]

My 12 year old cant ride a bike yet, mind you we havnt tried for a couple of years, He got one the christmas he was 7, we tried and tried, he never got it, he aslo could not steer and hold down the pedal, on those cars you get in adventure parks, holiday camps, until he was about 10, he got shoelaces about 9, after much practice, all my others could ride at 5. Enid

[rach04]

J (11) cant ride a bike or tie shoelaces we have tried and tried but ot say its more to do with his dyspraxia than asd.

[ScienceGeek]

I didn't learn to ride a bike properly until I was 10 and even then had a lot of accide nts. Still have problems tying shoelaces.

[darky]

My eldest son, now 14, learnt to ride a bike last year for the first time whilst at a do for real summer camp. One of the activities was bike riding and he had a choice, miss out or learn. He had a very patient youth worker who taught him in an indoor arena.

 

All three of mine have struggled with laces, riding a bike, using knife and fork etc. I was told by OT that children with ASD's can have problems with using both left and right hands at the same time, and crossing over the mid-line. With riding a bike there is so much to do. Steering, peddeling, brakes AND looking where you are going is difficult to co-ordinate all at the same time. My daughter (9) is lethal even on a bike with stabalisers. She can seem to focus on peddeling and thats it, or steering and thats it, not all of it together. So when we go to the park, even with stabalisers, it still needs both me and my husband stood either side of her to give her the balance.

 

She has now got a go-cart/trike. Trouble is, it's large! However, it takes care of the balance, but she still cant peddle AND looking where she is going!! It's just one horrible nightmare, but we keep persevering! She cant peddle all the way round, she gets half way round then stops and gets back to original position and peddles again.

[mossgrove]

Eldest DS, 10 cannot ride a bike due to balance issues. he is also dyspraxic.

 

When we go to CenterParcs we hire an adult tricycle for him.

 

Simon

[dooday24]

Reece cant ride a bike we just brought him a new bike and had to put stabilisers on it

shannon got a new bike and learnt to ride it in a few days

 

shannon just learnt to tie her laces but reece cant

 

love donnaxx

[oxgirl]

My lad (14) can't ride a bike yet. We tried and tried, a session every day for months, but he just couldn't get the balance and was always terrified of falling off. He lacked the patience and motivation to really stick at it and really try his best so our sessions turned into a real chore with him getting stroppy and difficult and in the end we gave up.

 

It was the same for shoelaces, his coordination made it really hard for him. We'd avoided the issue for years by using velcro but couldn't get them last time and had to get lace-ups and I decided enough was enough, I wasn't crouching down and doing my 14 year olds laces up! I sat him down every day and worked with him until he finally got it, amidst much howling and crying and shouting and rolling on the floor, but we got there in the end despite his best efforts to sabotage himself, which is what he usually does when things are hard. He does his own laces every day now but has to redo them several times throughout the day because he still can't get the tension right and they always come undone, but at least he does them himself.

 

~ Mel ~

[Bard]

I'm sure Canopus had some fantastic instructions on how to teach an ASD child to ride a bike, I'll have a search later when I've got more time.

 

Mine is 13 and can't.

[fiorelli]

Louis can ride a bike (standing up as well!) as long as it is downhill, or on the flat (after cycling down hill - momentum and all that), anthing with an incline is too difficult for him - he gets off and pushes (not that I blame him!) He learnt to do this last summer (the year before, he could balance as the bike rode down the slope of the garden, but could not peddle) He is 10 in September.

 

He learnt to tie his laces about 6 months ago, He often has to have someone else 'check' them though as they come undo 2 minutes after he has tied them.

 

My 8 yr old can ride a bike like a tropper (has been able to for a couple of years), and can tie his laces when he wants too!

 

My 6 year old can tie his laces when he wants too, and can't really ride a bike just yet, although he is getting better, and his confidence is coming along!

 

My 2 year old loves undoing shoelaces, and taking them out of the shoes - does that count?

[smiley]

I was thinking the same Bard

 

Here is it......... http://www.asd-forum.org.uk/forum/index.ph...;hl=riding+bike

 

M's nine, and can't ride a bike without stabilizers

[oxgirl]

Yes, that's the method we used to try and teach Jay but he didn't have the sticking power or the courage. He would only walk very slowly along and was too afraid to progress to rolling it along with his feet off the ground or pushing himself along more quickly. Like it said in the instructions, they should really keep going for half an hour or an hour, but Jay could only tolerate about five mins at a time before giving up so he just didn't make any progress.

 

~ Mel ~

[lynyona]

Kieran didnt learn to ride a bike until he was about 8 or 9 he couldnt get the balance right and he still cant grasp the tying of shoelaces and he s nearly 22.we bought him one of those practice tying your shoe things from early learning but that didnt help him much

[rocketgob]

Charlie is only 3 but he cant ride a trike or anything with pedals.

 

Ollie only learnt last year when he was 6 - shoe laces? - don't even go there!!!

Edited April 22, 2008 by rocketgob

[jb1964]

My asd daughter is nearly 15 and can't ride a bike - we probably haven't tried for about a year now - although up til then we religiously bought a bike or adapted the one she had every year from about 2yrs old and tried.

 

She can tie shoelaces - just about although it is painful to watch, she is very slow and more often than not it comes undone as it is very loose, plus she needs quite a long bit of lace left do do it.

 

I've realised a lot of the problems my daughter has is in doing two or more things at once and if strength is needed on top then there's no chance. She still can't open a bottle of water etc - as she can't turn the grip with strength added (if you know what I mean), same as using a knife and fork - the pressure of strength needed for the cutting action with co-ordination - and riding a bike the same again co-ordinating her feet and hands using strength to peddle and grip the break.

 

Take care,

Jb

[baddad]

Ben learnt to ride his bike at 5, but he was really keen/desperate to do so... If he hadn't been 110% determined it wouldn't have happened for at least another couple of years...

Laces - Ben was five or six. We did it by 'back-chaining' (working back in stages from the last pull on a bow), and also used a flat plastic foot from the ELC for practice before he tried on proper shoes on his feet...

 

One word of caution - Ben's relatively early acquisition of these skills became a bone of contention with physio's etc... because he was skilled in one or two very specific tasks (but unfortunately exactly the types of task they assess on) they often overlooked the huge problems he faced in other fine/gross motor areas...

 

[Cat]

DS2 almost 21 was about 9 when he finally managed to ride his bike but was never that interested in the bike anyway.

 

DS3 has been riding a bike without stabilizers from being 5 he to was desperate to ride a bike. He tends to buck the trend with all physical activities. He can kick a ball - is really good at footie - he can ice skate in a fashion and has perfect balance. When we took him to see his physio I think she kind of wondered why he was there and then kind of wondered how he had ever managed to ride the bike or kick the ball because the tightness of his muscles in his legs. At least that explained why he was always in so much pain with his legs. But if he wants to do something basically nothing will stop him.

 

He has only just mastered laces though his fine motor skills are much more of a problem than his gross motor skills.

 

Cat

[warrenpenalver]

I learnt to ride a bike when i was 9. Never really became competant at it and a few weeks not riding and im all over the place falling off again. I begin to loose control when take one hand off for indicating

 

I can tie shoelaces but they keep coming undone even if i do a double knot and thats because sometimes i confuse which way to cross them over for the double knot and dont tighten it correctly

[LittleRae]

Hi. my DS learned to ride using Canopus' instructions and it worked. Of course, for more than a year he refused to put the effort in - tried for a few minutes at a time and gave up. We made a concerted effort last spring/summer and at age 12 he succeeded. He's still whizzing around and really enjoys it.

 

Recently received a toy catalogue through the post and they were promoting their 'bike-in-progress' - you start off from 2.5 years without pedals and the pedals are only added when the child has good balance on the bike. It's suitable for up to 8 year olds.

 

Shoelaces - don't go there! We have tried and he has the basics, but cannot apply the skills to the actual shoes... He's now wearing size 6 and it's practically impossible to find velcro closing shoes in this size.

[ScienceGeek]

Shoelaces - don't go there! We have tried and he has the basics, but cannot apply the skills to the actual shoes... He's now wearing size 6 and it's practically impossible to find velcro closing shoes in this size.

 

Oh I know! I wear velcro shoes and it took ages to find them.

[ogsplosh]

R is 6 and can not do laces or ride a bike yet. We are trying with the bike this this summer, laces hasn't cropped up yet with the marvel that is velcro

[jo4themo]

N (age 9 and a half) has just managed to master peddling a trike (one of those big ones) at her school. We tried to teach her when she was younger but just couldn't get the hang of pedaling. I think she was just getting there 2 years ago but she suffered a nasty tumble off a trike and that made her nervous to use them.

Her school took a photo of her when she finally rode one and gave us a copy and she looks really pleased with herself!

Her younger sister (NT) can ride a bike just about without stabilsers - she is 6- and her little brother (NT age 3) can pedal a trike no probs)

[harmony]

Can your child ride a bike? If not, why do you think this is?

 

Can your child tie shoelaces?

 

I'm asking for all of your children.

 

My 9 year old NT daughter learned to ride her bike at 6 1/2. She learned to tie shoelaces before that.

 

My 7 year old AS son can ride a bike, in his own fashion. If he looks one way, the bike goes that way too! His bike gets wrecked within a few days of having it and he's constantly injured, but we tried really hard to teach him to ride because it's a huge thing amongst the children on this patch of houses. It's helped him to fit in some. He too learned to ride at 6. He just learned to tie a knot today, so we have started on the route to learning to tie laces, though it's not something we're worried about.

 

My 6 year old daughter taught herself to ride at 5! lol I have no idea if she can tie laces yet. She never wears them.

My 12 yr old AS has a lot of balance issues, failed her cycling proficency 3 times, has now given up.

NT son age 9 can't ride.

NT son age 3 can ride!

 

Me I ride as oftern as poss, hubby v keen on his 2 wheels.

 

Harmony X

[Stephanie]

My son still rides a bike with stabilisers at 7, he's not interested in learning to ride a bike as he doesn't see the point.

 

My other son who is 3 and NT has trouble pedalling.

 

I wondered if it was related to the fact that they both walk on their toes and have very short ham strings?

 

I think perserverance and patience are needed.

 

As for shoe laces, he doesn't usually wear them but I am just teaching him how to do it.

[mrsmuffins]

My son (AS) is 5 in June and cannot ride a bike yet, we have tried a couple of times but he just goes backwards, we are going to persevere with a new bike for his birthday and just keep encouraging him.

 

xx

[hedders]

my dd who 7 cant ride a bike but gives it a go with stablizers and has diffculty steering and using brakes.

Cant tie shoe laces still has diffuclty with buttons

My other dd rode a bike when she was 3yrs of age but only in the same place( is this a bit too early)

[sesley]

Can your child ride a bike? If not, why do you think this is?

 

Can your child tie shoelaces?

 

I'm asking for all of your children.

 

My 9 year old NT daughter learned to ride her bike at 6 1/2. She learned to tie shoelaces before that.

 

My 7 year old AS son can ride a bike, in his own fashion. If he looks one way, the bike goes that way too! His bike gets wrecked within a few days of having it and he's constantly injured, but we tried really hard to teach him to ride because it's a huge thing amongst the children on this patch of houses. It's helped him to fit in some. He too learned to ride at 6. He just learned to tie a knot today, so we have started on the route to learning to tie laces, though it's not something we're worried about.

 

My 6 year old daughter taught herself to ride at 5! lol I have no idea if she can tie laces yet. She never wears them.

 

 

 

 

hi i have been trying to encourage p to ride a bike, he ride mine home from school he sits and i hold he bike pushing it along,i have told him i need him to ride a bike so he can transport himself to school,the fuel supplys are getting critical and he says what fuel do bikes need ,just you to eat good food i siad, so today we bought him one for �40 from tescos. so now we have to get him to ride it hope ts not a waste of time, he is 8 years and 4 months by the way.watch this space i am a determined mummy.

[Gillian Roberts]

Hi there, I have an 11 year laddie, very independant from am early age. I think the concept to riding a bike is balance. went from baby walker - to walking at 11 months, little tike car offered fun in reversing and parking into spaces and forward motion. moved onto little trike with four wheels and finally at 5 years tried a two wheeler with stabilizers. I never noticed a change in my sons development. It was like he had no fear of danger, especially roads and loved racing up and down the pavement. He walked before he crawled, took one stabiliser off at a time, finally at 6 with pushing him around he just took off.

 

Shoe laces were never an issue because of velcro and you can still get velcro shoes at size 6 in Brantanto outlets. My son relies on visual techniques and repeating the movements lots of times he can now at 11 tie shoe laces.

 

I think we expect to much of our children at any age to have achieved something. I never put any pressure on my son.

 

They soon see that their friends are doing something whether its roller blades ( yes he can but not roller skates) or try them with a scooter for balance and movement of their feet and legs.

 

My son has just been diagnosed this week with Aspergers Sysndrome, always just thought he was absent minded, ignored me calling his name, age like rebel behaviour and learning dificulties where writing things down were concerned.

His behaviour escalated when he went to high school and where he would answer the teacher back in an adult manner and refuse to do his work and disrupt the class because he didnt understand the instructions.

 

I envy the fact that alot of people possibly on this site got an early diagnosis, the last 4 years have been hell, blaming myself for our shouting matches, yes calling him silly and iresponsibleand grow up. I wish I could take back those years and be a different person myself towards him.

 

The moral here is " it doesnt matter if they cant ride a bike, or tie their shoe laces or sing a song, or catch a ball or have a fear for water that they still cant swim at 11 years old. Our children have disabilities that they try themself to overcome but I have learned that they must do it themself. Let them have some control of their life and praise them when it finally happens. AS kids are selfish, and must be in complete control of all their decisions. we just have to offer choices that allow us to get the response we want but to let them feel they made that choice.

 

Sorry for going on for so long this is my first post, and well its great to finally find a common place to help or moan and people understand.

 

Thanks for reading, Gillian x

[bid]

AS kids are selfish, and must be in complete control of all their decisions.

 

Mmmm, not sure I really agree with this!!

 

Bid (who has AS, too!)

[Gillian Roberts]

my answer to you is how old are you that you feel you do not agree with this.

 

My son does not understand personal space, he has to be in your face, he must have your attention at all times when he wants it even if you are reading a paper or watching the news. He is unable to observe social situations. He considers himself more important than me. If you want to ask him something his answer is to tell you to shut up and let him carry on with the computer or the ps2 game.

 

If he does not like a way a role play game is going with his pals he needs to take control and make decisions for everyone. he does not like it when someone else is given the place of leader within a group discussion. he then gets frustrated and starts shouting and hitting the table.

 

My son is very talented, can watch a film replay it and recite parts of the play back to you but when you are watching a film he takes the remote off you, changes the channel or plays the dvd film back several times because he finds it funny, suiting himself and to take control back off him starts another temper.

 

My life has ben restricted, as the mum I should be the one setting the boundaries, making the decisions, choosing trips for day outs. Instead at the age of 40 this year my 11 year old doesnt want to leave the house at the weekends, wont go out in the car with me, takes over my computer, my telly without asking and I have repeated and repeated this instruction of asking first over and over again.

 

Please do not tell me that you are the only person with Aspergers who is not selfish and who doesnt need control of your life.

This is a very common trait recognised by everyone with a child with AS.

 

From an AS kids point of view or adult they think that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing, that by twisting the words that have ben said to them and changing then into a different context they blame you for accusing them of something when its really the other way around.

 

It is frustrating to me that I have to justify myself but at the same time this is all very new to me. My son has only been diagnosed this week with AS at the age of 11 years but the signs have been ther for the last 7 years. Call it a mothers intuition.

 

I also now in hind sight saw this in his father too.

 

How many decisions or instructions did you make for someone today and how many did you allow soneone else to give to you.

 

Look with an open mind, never take people for granted and show consideration to others feelings. My son struggles with all of these.

 

Take care Gillian

[bid]

Goodness!! I don't have time to reply to all your questions, as I'm at work at the mo.

 

I will just say that I am 42, and also have a son of nearly 19 who was diagnosed 12 years ago with AS, ADHD and Dyspraxia.

 

Sorry you felt I was asking you to justify yourself...I was just saying that I wasn't sure I would agree with your statement that AS kids are 'selfish'.

 

Bid

[Gillian Roberts]

I am sorry if you felt that I jumped back down your throat ( is that an idiotism LOL) not litterally of course.

 

It is all very upsetting at the moment, and if it had been noticed earlier at primary school we could have prepared him for high school and all the bullying, loud noises, teachers shouting at him for his adult like back chat ( one trait that facinates me how matter of fact he is).

 

I am now having him transferred to a small country high school which caters alo for special needs.

 

I cant sleep and so I am very much wide awake at the moment. My son has problems geting to sleep. Dont know if his mind actually shuts down or he has to get to the point of exhaustion.

 

What can I do to get him to sleep earlier.

 

Cheers

Gillian

[warrenpenalver]

I think self centered is a better word than selfish as selfish implies deliberatel ignorance of others feelings and not careing that thier actions cause hurt. where as self centered is more accurate as many AS kids struggle to see the other persons perspective and usually means no real malice.

[Gillian Roberts]

I think self centered is a better word than selfish as selfish implies deliberatel ignorance of others feelings and not careing that thier actions cause hurt. where as self centered is more accurate as many AS kids struggle to see the other persons perspective and usually means no real malice.

 

Hi Warren

 

I am a little confused, because self centred to me means the same as selfish, along with arrogance. In a normal trait (dont like using that phrase either) gives an air of they are more important than others, putting oneself first, which is to a certain extent selfish.

 

trying to place my mind in my sons way fo thinking is a little frustrating. I try to let him know ehen he is rude, or inconsiderate and that he only now recogises when I am upset when he sees my tears. My sons frustrations lead to him hitting me. Feel like a human punch bag.

 

WEll this is all a learning curve, I am seeking help in anger management, diet, hygiene and social communication.

 

My son is a very outgoing (proactive type) child but like me lacks slef esteem and self confidence. He constantly looks for reassurance.

 

Thank you for explaining that for me, cheers Gillian

[bid]

I know your son's dx is really recent, Gillian.

 

Have you read Tony Attwood's book 'The Complete Guiide to Asperger Syndrome'?? It's available from Amazon.

 

It is a really excellent book, and will help explain your son's AS in a very readable way. It also has strategies and ideas to help.

 

Bid

[warrenpenalver]

Hi Warren

 

I am a little confused, because self centred to me means the same as selfish, along with arrogance. In a normal trait (dont like using that phrase either) gives an air of they are more important than others, putting oneself first, which is to a certain extent selfish.

maybe i need to read a dictionary!! :lol:

[bid]

I've been thinking about this whole question all day, so...

 

I think AS kids/people can be selfish and self-centred just like anyone else...that's just part of the human condition. All kids will try to dominate their world without appropriate boundaries and so on.

 

Then there are behaviours that may superficially appear 'selfish' or 'self-centred', but actually arise from a different imperative.

 

An example would be the need for routine: for someone on the spectrum this isn't primarily about being selfish, it's about trying to impose structure and order on a world that is essentially chaotic for them. I can't 'see' the future in my head, so my routines and some of my obsessions create order and structure for me and make me feel safe.

 

Another example might be a refusal to join in social things. There are loads of things that could be going on here other than 'selfishness': the break from routine, too many people, too much noise, sensory overload, fear of social interaction which can appear so ungraspable, etc, etc.

 

And of course there are all the places inbetween 'normal human selfishness' and 'autistic needs' (can't think of a better phrase ). It's perfectly possible for someone on the spectrum to have both things going on at once.

 

Don't know if any of this makes any sense...hopefully someone will be along who can explain better, or disagree entirely!

 

Bid

Edited April 25, 2008 by bid

[oxgirl]

My lad had a right old bag (sorry, can't think how else to describe her) of a TA last year. She had no insight into autism and no understanding of his needs, etc. etc. etc. Anyway, my point is that she would continually call him 'rude' and 'selfish', words that are just totally inaccurate and harsh as far as I'm concerned, they just weren't right to describe my son. In the end we complained to the head of the unit about this and they agreed that this wasn't right and must be stopped. My lad was very upset about being called selfish, it hurt him quite a lot and he didn't think that he is a selfish person and we agreed that it wasn't the right term to describe him. He can be quite thoughtless and he doesn't always consider other peoples' feelings but I think selfish is a word that almost implies that the person intends to be like that or sets out to act like this and in some ways implies a kind of meanness, for want of a better word, and my lad would never set out to hurt or upset anyone and for that reason I don't think he is selfish. I suppose it's splitting hairs maybe, but perhaps self-centred is a bit less harsh a word to describe the same thing I guess.

 

~ Mel ~

[Gillian Roberts]

Hi Mel, Warren and Bid

 

What can I say, THANK YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. ( although realise that technically is not possible )

 

It is proving very dificult to even understand my son's mind. You are right SELFISH is very brash, if their perceptions are that sparce, social interaction that difficult to understand then it is only natural for them to create their own life routine to protect themselves.

 

I have gone from being a NIL tolerant womant to slowly approaching the 50% mark, still struggle to ACCEPT that all his misbehaviour isnt put on just to annoy me lol. :wallbash:

 

Mel, I am presently transferring Ryan to a smaller High school which includes fantastic support for special needs. Today has been a complete nightmare where teachers still continue to shout at Ryan because either he has ignored their instructions or he refuses to do the tasks put in front of him. he has ran away from school alot of times in the past because he feels that he is safer at home than being placed in an inclusion room the size of a large cupboard as a safe room. he now sees it as a punishment room.

 

Continual esclusion has had the opposite effect that he darent open his mouth in class so that they do not remove him from the class.

 

He did say something bad in Learning and evolving class (intruduction to social studies, hsitory and geography) today where they were looking at multi racial areas. he turned round to another lad and said have you ever seen a Packie Slap. Several boys turned round and called him rascist. The same boys that call him a Scotch egg Bast****. He didnt know what the phrase meant but everyone else was laughing at him. the teacher took him out of the class and that point he ran home.

 

The school rule is to get the community officer to go and collect him back but they didnt phone me first and so I had an histerical wee laddie on the phone telling me they were at the door.

 

After talking to them they calmed him down and he walked back to school for a chat with the year head. He is fine now but I am on cloud 12 with annoyance and anger. I ahve put a formal complaint to the SEN officer and hopefully I should receive some form of explanation. We go on Monday to see the new sschool, I am really excited that Ryan will be able to move on with his life with geniune, caring support.

 

God I have gone on again. I cant help this, should write a book and leave some space for the rest of you.

 

Thank you again, Gillian x

[oxgirl]

It is proving very dificult to even understand my son's mind. You are right SELFISH is very brash, if their perceptions are that sparce, social interaction that difficult to understand then it is only natural for them to create their own life routine to protect themselves.

 

I have gone from being a NIL tolerant womant to slowly approaching the 50% mark, still struggle to ACCEPT that all his misbehaviour isnt put on just to annoy me lol. :wallbash:

 

Gillian, try not to be too hard on yourself. My lad was diagnosed at 5 so I've had nearly ten years to learn about AS and about how my lad's head works and what makes him tick, we all have to start somewhere. If you're very new to this then give yourself some time to come to terms with the diagnosis and to learn as much as you can, it won't happen overnight. I hope your lad finds the understanding and support that he needs at his new school. In the meantime, my advice would be read as much as you can and give yourself lots of space and time to absorb all the new and, sometimes, daunting information. <'>

 

~ Mel ~