Special wheels for special needs kids
By Beth Kramer ekramer@stmedianetwork.com January 27, 2012 8:04PM
GRAYSLAKE Friday Jan 20 2012 Jennifer Burke, a substitute teacher for Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL) pulls Paige Grindley of Antioch on her new tricycle inside of the gym at Laremeont School. Laremont School, a school for students age 3 to 22 with severe to profound cognitive disabilities, held a special assembly to receive specially adapted tricycles and present some of them to several students from The Trike Project in honor of the late Scott Conlon, a Laremont student who passed away in November 2009. | Michelle LaVigne~Sun-Times Media
The Trike Project
Mission: To help children with special needs obtain adapted tricycles for therapeutic and recreational use.
Web site: www.thetrike
project.com
Article Extras
Updated: March 28, 2012 1:15AM
GAGES LAKE — When Jennifer Burke met Laremont student Scott Conlon, she had no idea her life would change.
She provided respite care for the Buffalo Grove student for almost two years. Scott had a rare pediatric disorder that affects a handful of people worldwide. The disorder impairs brain development and breathing.
Scott was 9 when he passed away in November 2009. Inspired by her work with Scott, Burke went on to found The Trike Project in 2011.
She brought a specially-adapted tricycle that supports children with disabilities for Scott to use. He loved it.
“He was such a happy, joyful kid that you could tell just wanted to get moving. That’s why I brought a bike to his house,” Burke said.
He loved his trike and rode it year-round, his mother Janet Conlon said.
The Trike Project raised money to buy eight specially-adapted trikes like Scott’s for Laremont School, a Special Education District of Lake County school for children ages 3 to 22 with severe to profound disabilities.
These trikes can cost anywhere between $1,200 and $2,200 each, Burke said.
The foundation recently awarded five tricycles to Laremont students through its scholarship program. This program was started in fall of 2011.
“The more kids we can get mobile, the better,” Burke said. “We were able to get everyone a trike who asked for it.”
The trikes are adapted for children who are wheelchair-bound and include features like extra straps for the upper body and pedal straps.
Nancy Grindley of Antioch requested a trike for her 16-year-old daughter, Paige. “She learned how to ride at school. She looks forward to it. It puts a smile on her face every time,” Grindley said.
The specially-adapted trike provides not only physical therapy but gives her daughter a feeling that she gets to have fun like other kids without any disabilities, Grindley said.
Children belong on bikes, Burke said.
“That (trike) brought Scott to life again. He was just another boy riding in the neighborhood,” Burke said.
That’s why The Trike Project is working to keep raising money so kids can ride with their families, she said.
“Scott changed my life for the better. I needed to change someone else’s life for the better,” Burke said.
These trikes are “luxury items” that help prevent fractures and keep muscles active, according to SEDOL nurse Cheryl Lardner.
“Typically, children with disabilities have limited activity with their families,” Lardner said.
Janet Conlon said that her son’s memory lives on through The Trike Foundation.
“It means a lot that they’re doing this in memory of him,” Conlon said. “This is such a worthy cause. To help families with disabilities is great ... this is giving them a piece of quality of life.”
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