Special needs youth prepare for Jr. Bix 7

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By Deirdre Cox Baker | Friday, July 18, 2008 9:50 AM CDT | () comments

Andrew Link/QUAD-CITY TIMES Four-year-old Aiden Roy will take part in his second Alcoa Jr. Bix 7 a week from tonight. Aiden has cerebral palsy and prepares for the race at the Genesis Children’s Therapy and Wellness Center in Bettendorf with about 20 other children. Buy this Photo

Aiden Roy hauls his metallic green walker about 50 feet down the racecourse and stops, totally spent.

“Go, go, go! Run, run, run!” his father, Joe Roy, encouragingly exhorts the boy. The 4-year-old flashes a grin and picks up his pace again. He’s working out for the big race, next week’s 11th annual Alcoa Jr. Bix 7.

Aiden was a premature baby, born with cerebral palsy, says his mother, Megan Roy. Aiden about 20 others from the Genesis Children’s Therapy and Wellness Center, Bettendorf, participate in “Junior Bix at Six” workouts to prepare for the July 25 event.

“We do this to strengthen his legs and improve muscle tightness,” Megan Roy says, balancing on one crutch. She has cerebral palsy, too.

Aiden and his little sister, Alivia, and his parents gathered this week for the final training session sponsored by the therapy center. About 20 children and their siblings met for six Tuesday evenings in a row in the parking lot of the Genesis facility on Maplecrest Road.

“The Junior Bix is a pretty big deal for these kids,” says Rebecca Amundson, a physical therapist. With a little help and the opportunity to participate, the special needs children are able to succeed at the Jr. Bix 7 just as the 3,500 other participants do.

The Genesis center has sponsored formal practices for three years and did so informally before that. Practices are structured like the Bix at Six training sessions to include pre-race stretching and water breaks. Popsicles are served at the end.

The Jr. Bix 7 has accommodated the entries since 1999, says Tim Ingold of Alcoa, co-chairman of the race committee. “By having special needs kids in the race, it allows all to see what a great and diverse world we have,” he says. “The kids achieve a milestone and make a memory.”

Getting ready

“Get in the circle, kids! We’re going to do our stretches,” Amundson shouts to the children who live with disabilities that include cerebral palsy, brain injury, autism and others. The exercisers are joined by siblings and support personnel called “buddies.”

“We have to do these stretches so our muscles don’t get sore,” Lindsay Schlicksup explains loudly and clearly. Schlicksup, an occupational therapist, says the children will meet at the Jr. Bix 7 on race day and each may use a buddy, “which helps,” she adds.

Short races begin after the warm-ups. As a group, the children charge back and forth three times in front of the Genesis facility, resting at each end. They also take a couple of laps around the building’s parking lot.

Aiden Roy and his father stop whenever the child tires. Also pausing to take a breath are Debbie Stotler and her son, Richie.

Eleven-year-old Richie used to the run in the Jr. Bix 7 before he was seriously injured in a traffic accident. He suffered a severe brain injury and is going through rehabilitation. This will be the second time he has returned to the race after a six-year hiatus.

“Yeah, Richie!” his mother says. “We’re going to do one more, big guy. You’re just awesome, bud!”

Good for the kids

Stotler believes the training sessions and race are a good way to get out in public. “It’s fun every year,” she says. “The people know Richie and call out his name. It’s his shining moment and he loves it. That’s what’s important.”

Dan DeMay of East Moline appreciates the race training because it gets his grandson, Chris, to exercise. The 10-year-old with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder loves to run outdoors with the other children.

Normally, Chris does not like crowds, his grandfather says, but he ran the Jr. Bix 7 with therapist Erica Jansen last year and had a great experience. “He ran, but he stopped at the stoplights,” DeMay says with a grin.

New walker

The Roys live in Donahue, Iowa, with their eldest son, Alex, 14. The family looks forward annually to the Jr. Bix 7. “He has a lot of fun at it,” Joe Roy says of his son.

Aiden’s new walker is a reverse style that encourages balance. He is very smart, his mother says, and has no cognitive problems, so they have concentrated on strengthening his motor skills. The muscles that can be made stronger will help him with balance. Right now, he falls a lot, “like 20 times a day,” she says.

The youngster is not the fastest participant at practice, but he doesn’t seem to be discouraged. Occupational therapist Jansen shadows him, teasing, “I’m coming right behind you. Better go faster!”

Aiden pulls his walker to finish the race.

Deirdre Cox Baker can be contacted at (563) 383-2492 or dbaker@qctimes.com.