TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – From July 8th through the 12th, Down Syndrome Indiana along with the iCanShine program will bring their first ever iCanBike camp to Terre Haute.
The camp which will be held at Woodrow Wilson Middle
School is designed to teach children with intellectual disabilities the
skills to ride a two wheeled bike.
This is done by using a
special bike that teaches children how to balance and according to Dixie
Russell, with Down Syndrome Indiana, these camps have shown great
success.
“80 percent of the riders come out successfully riding a
two wheel bike and then the other 20 percent just gain tremendous
achievements towards riding a two wheel bike,” Russell said.
Emily
Miller has signed her son Cody up for this camp and she’s hoping to see
some of the same success that other children have had.
Miller
says she has made attempts at teaching Cody how to ride a bike, but
believes camps like the one coming up may be a better resource.
“Kids
tend to maybe learn better from someone else, other than their parents.
We’ve tried to help him a couple of times and I think that maybe we’re
being a little too critical,” Miller said.
Miller says she remembers the struggles of riding a bike herself and she’s glad to see this sort of event come to Terre Haute.
“We need to include kids with disabilities into our society and our communities and the things that we’re doing,” Miller said.
Russell who has a daughter who will also participate in the camp says she is excited to see the progress that it will create.
“I
think this is just a great opportunity to get her to learn how to ride a
two wheel bike on her own and just improve on that independence, and
being able to play with friends and just do what all the other kids do,”
Russell said.
The camp is still looking for around 20 volunteers
to help with the camp. Russell says the only requirement is that you
must be 15 years of age.
Russell says there 5 sessions of the camp, each one lasting 75 minutes.
To find out how you can sign up a rider or volunteer:
https://icanshine.org/ican-bike-terre-haute-in/
or email Dixie Russell at dixie@dsindiana.org.
