September 14, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information:
Katie Van Scoyk, kavansco@jeffco.k12.co.us , Jeffco Public Schools, 303-982-6808
Lynn Setzer, lsetzer@jeffco.k12.co.us , Jeffco Public Schools, 303-982-6810

Special Bikes for Special People
Imagine never being able to ride a bike or having the freedom of mobility. For students at Fletcher Miller Special, physical activity like riding a bike was almost impossible, until now.

Fletcher Miller, a school for students with special needs in Lakewood, is hosting a bike day on Friday, Sept. 18, beginning at 9:45 a.m., at Jefferson County Stadium, 500 Kpling, Lakewood, where every student will have the chance to ride an adaptive bike around the track at Jeffco stadium.
 
“Last year, one student said he felt like he was flying,” said Jackie Henning, one of the school’s occupational therapists. “It’s an opportunity for students to participate in something that they’ve never done and something many of their parents thought they would never do.”

The adaptive bikes are from Freedom Concepts, a company that builds mobility devices for people with disabilities. Apart from the experience of riding a bike, Henning says it offers students a variety of physical benefits.

“It provides movement in their legs and allows them to lift their heads up and down,” she said. “It’s a great sensory exercise.”

West Metro Fire will also be on hand to teach students about helmet and bike safety.

“It’s neat to see kids have the opportunity to participate in activities that typical kids do every day,” said Henning. “Just because they have special needs does not mean they can’t do the same things that typical kids do.”

                                                           
###