NEW MIDDLETOWN — It’s a season for being thankful, and, at the Smith home, one 8-year-old boy is thankful to be able to ride bikes with his family, and keep up.

Wesley Smith, 8, son of Krista and Kevin Smith, was provided with a bicycle designed for young children with Down syndrome. It provides Wesley a chance to live a more normal childhood.

“We did not receive a prenatal diagnosis,” Krista explained. “At birth, his doctor suspected that he had Down syndrome … and we received the results confirming his diagnosis approximately three weeks later.”

As Wesley grew, so did his desire to join his family on bike rides and play with the other children. The problem was, he couldn’t pedal the kind of bikes that are available in the local department stores. He also was too young to participate in the Down Syndrome Association of the Valley “iCAN Shine Bike Camp” held at Boardman High School, where older youth and young adults with developmental disabilities and special needs could improve their riding skills.

It seemed for a time that Wesley would not get the joy of riding a bike at his young age, but that would soon change. The idea for a tricycle came up in a general conversation with Jenna Nameth, an Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities service and support administrator.

“At the start of last spring / summer, we all knew that most of the programs that are offered to our kids were not going to be available due to COVID,” Krista said. “Jenna asked if there was anything else that Wesley needed, and that was when it hit me. We were really struggling to find a bike that Wesley was able to ride. We had tried just about every kind of bike that you can find in retail stores, but they just weren’t working out. Wesley was finally starting to grasp the concept of pedaling on his tricycle but after his most recent growth spurt, he was too big for it.

“We just couldn’t find one that didn’t frustrate him after about 10 feet of riding. It didn’t help that Wesley’s little sister was zooming by him on her bike. It was upsetting for him to see his sister easily do something that he was struggling with. As a parent, it breaks your heart to see your child struggle to do something that most other kids take for granted.”

CHILDREN FIRST

She said Nameth worked with Mahoning County Family and Children First Council to make that happen. The county disabilities board streamlines and coordinates existing government services for families seeking services for their children.

“FCFC is a partnership of state and local government, communities and families that enhances the well-being of Mahoning County’s children and families by engaging and empowering families,” Nameth said. The county disabilities board works with it on behalf of individuals.

What Wesley needed was an “adaptive tricycle” that is built specifically for children with special needs. These are special bikes and are not cheap by any means. The price tag starts at a couple thousand dollars and goes up from there. There was no way that kind of bike would fit the Smith budget, which was strained from significant medical expenses for Wesley seeing specialists and therapy.

That is where the council connected the dots to bring resources together for improving outcomes for families and children.

“MCFCFC receives funding to provide supports for individuals (through age 21) with multi-systemic needs, who are receiving service coordination,” service and support supervisor Linda Reigelman said. “These include supports such as respite, behavior intervention training, parent advocacy, safety and adaptive equipment, etc. The adaptive tricycle will assist Wesley and his family with some outdoor respite and enhancement of his therapies, motor development, and socialization.”

A HUGE HIT

The request for the bike went in during June and the tricycle arrived in July, and was a huge hit from the first second Wesley saw it.

“His reaction was priceless,” Krista said. “We had the bike in the garage and when Wesley came home from the sitter we had him stand in front of the garage door while we opened it. His eyes got so big and he ran to it and said, “Wesley’s bike.” He hopped on and immediately took off. I’m not kidding, there was like zero learning curve with this bike. His first ride lasted almost 20 minutes. I couldn’t believe it. Something he struggled with for so long and all he needed was the right tool.”

She said mechanically, she couldn’t explain what differentiates this bike from others, but she was amazed at the ease of pedaling. She said the wheel base is close to the ground and she could easily move the pedal with just her index finger.

Besides bringing a lot of joy to Wesley, the adaptive tricycle is a confidence booster and a great source of the kind of exercise he needs. Plus he can spend valuable time with his family by going on bike rides. And now, he can finally keep up with his sister.

“The boost in his confidence alone is amazing,” Krista said. “Think about something that you have struggled to do for months and then it finally seems to click. That is what Wesley is experiencing right now. He is so proud of himself. If our neighbors are out while we are riding he yells and waves to make sure that they see him on his bike. He is zooming past his little sister now, just like every big brother should. He now has the opportunity to socialize with his peers and do something that every other kid his age is doing.”

She also mentioned the importance of for typically developing peers to see children with special needs doing the same activities they are. Wesley’s parents had to get bikes just to keep up with him. Now everyone is getting exercise.

“I will never be able to thank them enough,” she said. “Every kid, regardless of their ability, should have the opportunity to ride a bike. They made this happen for my son, and I will forever be grateful. Not only did they help us with the actual bike, but they also made sure he had everything he needed to safely ride, including a helmet and knee and elbow pads.”

As for the bike, the Smiths did do a little tweaking for Wesley. They placed a racing plate on the front with the No. 21 on it. The medical term for Down syndrome is Trisomy 21 or T21 because it means that an individual has a third copy of the 21st chromosome.

“The No. 21 is pretty special to us, so it only seemed fitting to give Wesley that racing plate for his bike,” Krista said.