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iCan Bike Camp helps kids with developmental disabilities learn how to ride
OMAHA, Neb. —
For many kids, learning to ride a bike is a source of independence and activity.
Each year, Omaha nonprofits and organizations partner with iCan Shine to host the iCan Bike Camp.
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The camp helps kids with developmental disabilities achieve the independence riding a bike provides.
“They have these specialized roller bikes that they bring. So, the kids start out on a really wide roller, and throughout the week, kind of without them knowing that, roller tapers and gets a little more narrow until we get them on a regular two-wheel bike,” said Danielle Thiessen, the executive director of clinical strategy at the Pediatric Therapy Center.
The format helps kids ease into the activity and gain confidence.
Claire Brown says it’s a great learning method for her daughter.
“They structure it so that they feel a lot of success early on. There’s fewer falls, there’s less scary things. They can really feel successful as they kind of get moving towards the two-wheel bike,” Brown said.
Klie Thomas Shipley says getting the chance to see her son make progress is unbeatable.
She’s hoping, with a little more practice, their whole family can bike together.
“Today he’s on his own bike, and he’s pedaling around outside right now without anybody holding on, which is amazing, because that was more than I could imagine,” Thomas Shipley said.
For many of the campers, learning to bike changes their life.
“We had a little girl here this week that she went home on day two, and she went and her friends in her neighborhood, a little note that said, ‘You guys, I learned how to ride my bike today. Next week I’m going to come ride my bike with you guys next week.’… That made our hearts all melt,” Thiessen said.
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