Back in 2014, Summer’s parents were introduced to our team with the hope of finding a solution that would help to maintain their daughter’s strength and independence. Summer was diagnosed with Rett syndrome and became unable to walk independently. She rode a Scuttlebug trike but when she outgrew it there were no bigger alternatives available.
We worked with Summer’s family and a number of other families since then to provide custom made scoot trikes which are fantastic tools for children who are unable to pedal a bike or push a scooter. Summer used her trike to get around and choose where she wanted to go, rather than being steered in a wheelchair by Mum.
Bike riding is a rite of passage, and for children who aren’t able to make the jump to a pedalled bike, a scoot trike is just what they need. Brody, for example, gets great exercise which develops muscle strength and coordination that will be so useful as he grows. There are many ride-on toys available for small children, but nothing the right size for older children like Summer and Brody.
“Brody has global development delay and when he was a toddler wasn’t able to use ride-on toys. However, when he turned 4 he started to develop an interest in them and learned how to use his legs to move along. The problem we had was that Brody had outgrown all of the ride-on toys (without pedals) available. None of them met his size or needs. It was really sad and frustrating that there was nothing available for him to use and we would often watch him try to use smaller ride-on toys that he was way too big for.” Brody’s mum, Laura
Children develop strength, coordination and spatial awareness when playing outdoors. Social skills are stretched when interacting with peers and children explore decision making when they have the means to get around independently. For a child who isn’t able to walk or run independently, a trike like this can open up their world.
So that even more children can enjoy the benefits of outdoor play, we need your help to further improve the design so that is is easier to build and even more adaptable for children of different ages.
Now, we’re making 10 trikes to test with children who need them. We’ll partner with 10 families to get first hand insights into how the trike benefits their children and together develop a design that will go on to give hundreds, if not thousands of children new opportunities for physical, mental and social development.