These kids went to camp - and now they can bike with their friends

Like any 8-year-old, Faye Rossi of Manhattan loves riding her bike.

But because Faye has a partial deletion of her eighth chromosome, she has low muscle tone, poor depth perception, some developmental delays and “her balance is not the same as yours and I,” so she always needed some help, her mother Malinda Rossi said.

However, Faye is now on her way to riding her bike independent of her training wheels, thanks to the iCan Bike program, which teaches people with disabilities ages 8 and up to ride a conventional two-wheel bike.

The program was June 14 to June 18 at Spencer Crossing School in New Lenox. Attendees were scheduled for one 75-minute session each day, Monday through Friday.

Trained professionals and volunteers used customized adaptive equipment when teaching participants how to ride the bike, according to a news release from District 122. This included Kaityln Schmidt, floor supervisor for iCan Shine and Connor Maguder, bike technician for iCan Shine.

Malinda said she felt Faye might benefit from having someone other than Malinda help her with those skills.

“I think she was much more focused,” Malinda said.

Malinda herself learned that Faye’s bike was too small for her and she graduated to a 20-inch bike. Bike seats were low so if the riders tipped, they could put their foot down to correct it.

“She was very nervous about falling,” Malinda said. “But she never did fall.”

The kids had instruction and practice in the school gym on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday they rode a tandem bike with an adult buddy from the program “so she could feel the wind in her face” – which is important since “some of these kids may never get to the point where they can ride by themselves,” Malinda said.

On Friday, participants rode outside in the parking lot, Malinda said.

Faye is not riding her bike on her own yet. But program’s coordinators felt certain Faye will with more practice, Malinda said.

“It was great to see the volunteers’ faces light up, their high fives and the great job they did,” Malinda said. “They took time out of their schedules to volunteer their time. It was very smoothly run.”

‘The magic of the week’

One of those volunteers was Julie Belka of New Lenox, a speech pathologist. Belka, who helped out last year, returned with two of her own kids ­– Tommy, 17, and Audrey, 15, because she wanted them to experience “the magic of the week,” Belka said.

“This is such an amazing program,” Belka said. “We see kids who come in on that first day. Some of them are too scared to get near a bike at all. But by Friday, many of those kids are riding a two-wheeler. It’s really amazing.”

Feeling included

Jennifer Consolino of Homer Glen, a village trustee, said her 8-year-old daughter Genevieve for the iCan Bike program has sensory integration disorder that affects her balance and resembles attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in that Genevieve needs to move constantly, Jennifer said.

Genevieve also has anxiety, which also affects her ability to ride a bike, Jennifer added.

“She’s very fearful she won’t get the balance and she has trouble moving her feet from right to left,” Jennifer said.

But other kids Genevieve’s age in her neighborhood could ride bikes, so Genevieve was getting left out of some activities, Jennifer said.

“We were kind of at our wits end,” Jennifer said. “I tried to sign her up last year but then COVID happened. I even held her out of some other camps so she could do this.”

Jennifer said the program was a “real gift” to her daughter. Sometimes kids will push against a parent’s best efforts but having people who are positive, happy and kind working with these kids gives them a “comfort zone to come into their own,” she said.

“The first day was a little hard and it took some getting used to because loud noises bother her,” Jennifer said. “I reminded her that there are kids who have more needs than she does that it’s the only way they know how to communicate it. I think it humbled my daughter and also made her feel more normal. She has needs and other children have needs and she is not alone by any means.”

Seeing Genevieve ride a bike on her own was “very emotional” and “beyond precious,” Jennifer said.

“She was like a duck in water by day three,” Jennifer said.

More than learning a skill

Karin Essig of Palos Hills said her daughter Mia Jovanovic, 12, is a pediatric stroke survivor with weakness of her right side. Essig said she wasn’t sure Mia could ever ride a bike.

But having the kids ride bikes for an hour each day five days straight was a “game-changer,” Essig said. Furthermore, the iCan Bike program did more than teach Mia the mechanics.

“It really improved her confidence,” Essig said. “It was a very positive and inspiring for all the kids, regardless of their disabilities ... I think Kaitlyn, Connor and Fred (Manzi) were just awesome with the kids. And we can’t thank them enough for their support and help. It’s definitely making a difference in children’s lives.”

For more information, visit icanshine.org.