Adaptive Biking
When we talk about building bike culture at schools, we know our adaptive bike program pays huge dividends.
Youth with complex learning challenges are able to ride with their peers in special education and PE classes. We worked with 522 special needs students, across all grades, in 2024-25. Youth en Route has six trikes, fitting a range of abilities and sizes, that we can take to schools to support bike riding.
In most classes, we are able to get 100% of students riding with varying levels of support. Teachers and learning leaders are amazed at how these tricycles increase opportunities for relevant learning, including following directions, testing gross motor skills and building spatial awareness.
More than wheels
CBE learning specialist told us about one Grade 7 student with austism, and is nonverbal who was introduced to an adaptive bike from YER in September 2023 at his school. “Over a period of 6 weeks, the student went from working on tolerating the helmet, to sitting on the bike and being pushed, to pedalling with support of an adult to initiate the movement, to now pedalling and steering independently. To see this skill building in sequential planning in such a short period of time is phenomenal. Additionally, while riding the bike the school team have also been able to target some core word communication, such as “Go”, “Stop”, “Fast”, “Slow”, “Finished”. Having access to an adaptive bike has opened so many opportunities for him.”
At Our Lady of the Rockies, the tricyles were brought in to gym classes and provided a new avenue for development. So many students were really engaged in learning.
“To watch them grow in such a short amount of time was really amazing,” says Stephanie Shlahetka, Educational Support II teacher. “Their listening skills, the following directions, all those kinds of good, engaging activities – the kids have just been blown away by all of this.”
Adapting for all needs
We know that wearing a helmet can be a challenge for students with sensory challenges. While a helmet is always our first choice, we will allow some students without a helmet to use a low-profile recumbent bike with direct supervision. We know that simply moving in a different way delivers so many benefits to youth.
At many schools, teachers bring in Leadership students, PE 30 students or other classes that have volunteer hours or leadership components to support riding. We love it when cycling is something that brings students together.
