[blindkid] Introduction from a new list member

Cynthia Davis cdfiets at gmail.com
Mon Jun 3 18:15:45 UTC 2013


Hi Rita,

I'm so happy to hear that you're getting Paul onto a bicycle!  It will be such fun for him, a wonderful sensation, and certainly a blast for all of you!

Your question is not addressed to us, but I may be able to offer some insights.  Our 15-year-old, Jack, has bilaterial coloboma which results in his having minimal central vision but absolutely no peripheral vision.  Therefore, riding a bike for this strong, energetic kid, has been an important parenting challenge.  Our 5 years' experience, which involved much trial-and-error,  has led us to adopt the following points, which work well:

He rides his bike only on sidewalks or on off-road bike trails.  
He does not ride alone.  
Helmet and protective glasses (sunglasses or racquetball glasses) are required.  
His bike has a bell and he must ring it and notify walkers or riders when passing, for example "on your left."  
He is instructed, particularly with his lack of peripheral vision, to signal and pull off to the side if he wishes to stop, turn around, or turn onto a different bike trail.
No riding in traffic whatsoever.  Never on any road with cars.
Jack wears an orange "visually impaired" vest while one parents rides (always behind) wearing "guide" vest.  These are available from Reliable Racing Supply.  Vests may be viewed by some as discouraging independence, but they keep our kid alive as other riders know he may not see as much as they see in a given situation.
For a small child, I would certainly use the attached cart or a "bike" that attaches directly to the down-tube of the parent's bike.
This is similar to how Jack skis alpine, again with the vests worn by both him and his dad, Dad skiing behind.  I simply can no longer keep up with this guy on skis!  And for skiing, I have talked with several other parents of kids with visual impairments who also find it help their kids to stay away from the shady portion of a ski run.  

Have fun!  There's nothing happier than a kid who's had a good day of exercise with his family!  

Cynthia




On Jun 3, 2013, at 11:39 AM, Rita Barrett wrote:

> Welcome Lucy, 
>  
> So happy to have someone just wanting to be asked a question!  My husband and I are raising our son Paul, he also has LCA with some very limited vision, &  who will be three in august.  He was attempting to ride a tricycle for the first time over the weekend and we would like to make riding bikes a frequent family outing.  Would you recommend a pull behind cart for riding on the roads?  We may be able to borrow one to try before we commit.  We live in a very small community that is very bike friendly although the traffic can get bad this time of year. Paul is fiercely independent and will hop out of his wagon in motion so he can push it his self, and was more interested in pushing the trike over the weekend then he was in attempting to learn how to power it with his feet using the pedals.  Any pointers or advice will be much appreciated :-)
>  
> Rita Bloxom
> 
> --- On Sat, 6/1/13, Lucy Sirianni <lucysirianni at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> From: Lucy Sirianni <lucysirianni at earthlink.net>
> Subject: [blindkid] Introduction from a new list member
> To: blindkid at nfbnet.org
> Date: Saturday, June 1, 2013, 6:33 PM
> 
> 
> Hi all,
> 
>   I'm Lucy Sirianni, a new member of this group.  A few of you may recognize my name from other listservs, but for those who don't know me, let me briefly introduce myself.  I'm a doctoral student who has been totally blind since birth due to Leber's Congenital Amaurosis.  After growing up in Minnesota, where I homeschooled along with my three younger (sighted) siblings, I did my undergraduate work at Johns Hopkins, majoring in English, and I'm now working toward my Ph.D.  in English at Berkeley, preparing to become a literature professor once I've finished the program.  I'm always happy to be a resource for parents raising blind children and will be glad to do my best to answer any questions any of you may have, either on the list or privately.
> 
>   I'm glad to be here and look forward to future discussions!
> 
> Best,
> 
> Lucy
> 
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