super nanny: Momentum - Asperger's and Learning to Ride a Bicycle

Learning to ride a bike can be a daunting goal for any kid, let alone a kid with Asperger's. Issues with coordination and balance can get in the way of each little success, and for those who tend to be anxious, the fear of falling, not succeeding, being teased by peers, doing a face-plant off the front of the bike, getting one's shoelaces tangled in the pedals, having a blowout doing 70, forgetting how to use the handlebars, snakes suddenly popping up from holes in the pavement, tipping over and unexpected elephants attacks can add to the worry of clearing such a momentous hurdle.

It's easy when you're a little kid. The chance of wiping out on a 3-wheeler on a flat black top are like, WAY less than for a stylish young lady learning to balance and control a 2-wheeler.

Bike riding can be as much of a right of passage for parents as it is for kids! It's another one of those things... when all the moms are talking about their kids and it comes up that your kid doesn't know how to ride a bike yet at age 8. Do you launch into a lengthy explanation about the psychological and physiological differences in children in the autism spectrum, or do you do what I do and just say, "Eh... the fact that she can't ride a bike yet is a simple reflection of the poor parenting skills we possess. We're cool with it." ?? (You should see the looks I get with that one... )
*insert maniacal giggle-fit here*

The first attempts, while exciting, also proved frustrating...

So Daddy stepped in for a short pep-talk.

And though no snakes popped up unexpectedly from the warm pavement, the task at hand seemed very upsetting for poor Iraq. Her own inability to instantly be able to ride a bike like Lance Armstrong resulted in a fair amount of frustration.

But after a short break to soothe her overstimulated senses... (and after mom hopped on the small "Barbie" bike for a very short, circus-esque trip across the blacktop to the sound of giggles and applause from her admiring audience) Iraq was ready to give it one more try.

The sweet taste of success propelled her around and around the blacktop, and when she was ready to stop, the bike was all but forgotten as she ran to her daddy for a huge victory hug!