ANN ARBOR, Mich., — Children with Down syndrome or autism may not master learning to ride two-wheel bikes but many who attended a U.S. university camp can ride two-wheelers.

Dale Ulrich, a professor in the University of Michigan’s School of Kinesiology in Ann Arbor and lead researcher of the project, says the camp offers five sessions a day — each with eight participants — for a total enrollment of 40 students during the week. The same children come each of the five days at the same time for the 1 hour, 15 minute session.

Ulrich says the bicycles used at the camp have graduated back wheels that start wide and get narrower as the riders learn to balance on a two-wheeler.

In past camps, conducted this summer, 80 percent of participants learned to ride the two-wheeler by the using the special bikes provided by Lose the Training Wheels, Ulrich says.

Ulrich and colleagues are tracking the children and measuring the frequency of riding; amount of time on average per day spent in sedentary, light, moderate and vigorous physical activity; social interaction skills; number of community activities they participate in and who they participate with; and sleep quality, leg strength, standing balance, body fat and waist circumference.

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