Teaching Biking on a Trail

Shanti Kurada

Biking is an enjoyable and healthy activity for all people. However for some individuals with autism, motor planning challenges and paying attention to environmental cues that predict sudden changes make the activity challenging. Children soon outgrow biking in the backyard and will have to learn new skills such as being watchful of running kids and rolling balls, and following adult directions amidst multiple voices - to be able to bike in a park or on a trail. The other challenge that individuals with autism face is energy and speed regulation. They may want to keep biking forever and not be able to stop or they may not be able to bike beyond 5 minutes. They may ride too slow or too fast or not be able to adjust speed to fit the inclination. These skills should be taught explicitly and systematically so that the child with autism can be successful and have access to this joyful activity. Described below is a process that teaches these skills in a step-by-step manner:

Teach biking safety at home.

Teach your child how to use the brakes and slow down or stop as needed. If she is unable to grasp the skill of using brakes, teach her to use her feet to slow down or stop by planting them on the ground. Talk to her about avoiding obstacles in your backyard and point them out to her. Practice this skill by introducing a few obstacles (backyard items such as a storage box, planter, or chair) and changing their positions to teach adapting to a changing environment.

Begin introducing your child to a small park setting.

Select a neighborhood park with a smaller path, that is not leading into a street. A smaller circular path may be ideal to begin with it because you can be in the middle of the circle and dart around to support your child as needed. Remember, the skill of balancing on a bike come very easily, the challenge often lies with paying attention to environmental cues and speed regulation. Teach her to pay attention to running children, rolling balls, children on skate boards, people walking, strollers, dogs, etc.

Transition to a larger park setting.

Once your child feels confident in a smaller park and is biking safely there, you can introduce her to a park where the path is longer and winds more, and may have more people and distractions. Now, she has the skill set to be safe - paying attention to cues and changes and regulating her speed in response to them - and she needs to extend this skill to more people and distractions. In other words, she needs to build tolerance. Once again, this is developed through consistent practice. Once challenge you might face with this longer, windier path is that - if you are on foot, she might get too far from you and run into a dog or a small child. There are a few different ways to address this - you could be biking a couple of feet in front of her if the path is narrow, so that she follows you. You could bike next to her if the path is wide enough for both of you and other passing people. You could bike behind her and giver her a heads up as needed. Either way, biking with your child has a great advantage - she is now working on the skill of following directions visually and verbally and coordinating her biking with yours (slowing down when you slow down, turning when you turn, preparing to stop when she sees you stopping).

Transition to a trail.

Pick a trail that is wide enough for opposing traffic and does not have steep drop offs on the sides. Show your child a map of the trail and the approximate time you will spend biking before heading back. Bike in front of her, and if possible, have another family member bike behind her in the beginning. Extend the skills she has acquired at the smaller park - paying attention to environmental changes and regulating her speed in response to them, as well as the skills she learned at the larger park - following your lead and coordinating her biking with yours. Once she becomes more proficient, you may not need to have an additional family member biking behind her.

All of the above stages of learning should take place on flat ground or at the most gentle slopes. Avoid steep slopes to keep your loved one with autism safe, unless you are absolutely confident in their ability to regulate their speed on slopes.

Safe biking is a teachable skill for every child with ASD. It gives them a healthful hobby to engage in, builds their bilateral coordination and leg muscle strength, and their connection to the family. If there are challenges along the way, do not give up. Persist and find solutions so that you can give your child access to this wonderful experience. Plus it's fun for the whole family!