More than just a trike

In this post I will be speaking highly of a product, I am however not affiliated to the company and do not receive any payment for the recommendation. 

For the most part our son hasn't needed many things adapted for his needs yet. Other than clothes due to sleeve and trouser lengths as his limbs are shorter than average. As well as an orthopaedic feeding chair he used while weaning he has been able to use the same things as an average height child his age. As I cover in other posts we have had to be extra mindful of how his spine in postured as he's more prone to curvature of the spine and more seriously, spinal stenosis (compression of the spinal cord). Even so, that has only really meant that we've needed to make sure he doesn't use certain seats, baby carriers and always lies down on a flat, supportive surface. This was especially important during the infant year.

 

During summer we had one new piece of apparatus introduced into our life though. A type of toy most young children enjoy playing with once they become toddler. A toy that for the most part isn't built for kids with growth restrictions but has many benefits to a child's development. Ride-on toys. Ride-on toys are invaluable tools for young children to develop their fine and gross motor skills. Undeniably, they encourage physical exercise and a sense of exploration; but they also help with the child's balance and enhances their understanding of spatial awareness. I have no doubt there are other benefits to children playing with them.

Now, as you can see from the photos above, our son's shorter legs means that he can't reach the ground on standard ride-on toys to make them move. His growth will be a lot slower than the average child's growth so it's impossible to tell when he'd actually be tall enough to play independently on them despite being able to climb onto them quite happily by himself (he gets very frustrated when they don't move though). Luckily there is a company who have considered this and have made a trike that can be adapted to suit its riders needs more than other brands.

The charity is called Designability, and their mission statement says they aim to help "people achieve greater independence and happiness in life". They do this by trying to create products that will help those with disabilities and give them the opportunity to over-come challenges in life. The trike is named the "Sit 'n' Ride" and is specially designed for children who have restricted growth. If you've read my other posts you will know there are over 200 forms of dwarfism, there are also children who suffer from growth hormone deficiencies who no doubt may benefit from this product if they have fallen behind on their growth curve. Its seat and handlebars are adjustable in height, which is standard on a bike, but rarely on a toddler's tricycle. The feature that really makes it stand out is that you can adjust the space between the seat and handlebars. This is incredibly important in our son's case as his arms wouldn't be long enough to reach the bars comfortably otherwise. You'll note from the picture that there is also a backrest which gives extra support to the rider and helps their posture. Something that is very important to the safety of many children's backs due to the risks mentioned earlier.

This was taken the day after receiving the trike and before adjusting the middle bar, even though Elis could reach the bars he kept sliding off the seat. The problem was solved once the space was shortened.

The unfortunate thing with needing custom made equipment is that it generally costs more than your average product. And with less choice available on the market you aren't given much option. To be fair to the company they site cost of making the trike at £180 while they sell them at a little over a third of that. But £72 was still a lot to of money to us and it may have taken us longer to invest in one if another option hadn't arisen. I was even trying to research mainstream trikes and ride on toys to try to find something that sat as low as possible. If you are at all interested I would probably have gone for Scuttlebug's "Scramble bug" as I knew the Scuttlebug we had was too high but their other model seems to sit a little lower. I already love how they fold together and the one we have is like new despite being 4.5 years old and several children. I have a feeling it would still have been a little too high for Elis to reach with more than the tips of his toes. I have seen a few products that sit lower, but their fallback was usually that the seat was too wide which again would hinder his reach.

But then I got a message from one of the other families in Scotland with a son who has achondroplasia. They happened to have one of the Designability trikes and their wee boy was done with it as he is a few years older than Elis. The family lived relatively close to where we were on the West coast during the summer months. Not only that, I had already been in touch with his mother for the best part of a year as she had been the one to come up with the 3 Peaks fundraiser I have written about previously. As you'll know if you've followed my posts over the past few months my personal goal was to walk to the summit of Ben Nevis, but there was also a group of warrior women who raised money by walking Snowdon, Scafell Pike AND Ben Nevis withing 36 hours (including their travel between Wales, England and Scotland). Like us, their son was the first with dwarfism in their family, and like us they've found the DSA (Dwarf Sports Association) a positive group to turn to. Which is why raising money for them felt so important to us. We had never met in person but thanks to Facebook it felt like we already knew each other well. Her son is about the same age as my eldest and his sister a little younger than my middle child. It was a joy to see the children play together while getting to know their mother a little better when they visited to drop off the trike.

Now, as you can imagine, that connection already made receiving the trike all the more special than buying or being gifted another one. BUT that really wasn't the beginning of the trike's story. To us the trike is all the more important because of it's first home. Some of you may remember one of my posts from last year where I mentioned a family who had modified their kitchen to make it more suitable for their teenage daughter's needs and independence while cooking. Well that little girl was the first owner of the amazing blue trike. Her mother was the very first person I contacted when we'd found out about our son's condition while I was pregnant and full of worries. She had a post on the Scottish Short Stature website about her experience as an average height mother being introduced to her daughter's achondroplasia. I had reached out to her and am so happy I did. This summer was the first time I got to meet their family after nearly 18 months of contact via the internet (in fact we met twice, thought I feel like I've spent far more time with them already). They had received the trike thanks to a grant from the "Children in Need" charity. 

This trike has over the last decade made 3 children in Scotland very, very happy. It's given them all the ability to play with something many take for granted as a childhood toy. A toy that helps promote motor skills and prepare you for eventually riding an actual bike. So for our family it's not just about what it gives our son, but what it's given two others before him. If you have any worry, whether about your child, yourself, a loved one, look for groups of others who understand what you're going through. They empower you, they teach you, the bring you calm. We feel so lucky that we've met so many amazing people thanks to our son's diagnosis and I have no doubt we will meet many more. This is so much more than just a trike. It's a gift of friendship for all the members of our families.