Dear Dwell #1

I received this letter a while ago, but I just thought I would post it, along with my reply, and see if anyone else had any suggestions

"I am the father of a 4 year old boy who suffers from C.P.

He just lives life to the max. He is affected down his left hand side and has no use of his left arm.It would be great to here how life has progressed for kids your age as i often worry how he will cope as he gets older.Especially when he hits his teenage years.

We recently went to meeting which gave us great insperation meeting other parents and being able to talk about the things you bottle up.

My biggest task at the moment is trying to find him a bike . This is how i came across this site. He was broken hearted when Santa didnt bring his bike this year. I need to find a bike with a training pole and suitable support......,. any ideas?

I look forward to hear from you in the near future."


"I am so glad you replied to my post! Thank you so much!
As a matter of fact I know just the think that could help your son with his bike riding. A couple of summers ago I attended the Stride Bike Camp http://www.stride.org/sports/biking/ near my grandparent's house in Albany, NY. It is a week long day camp and it has many locations around the US. Anyways, they teach kids with disabilities to learn how to ride bikes with these really cool bikes that involve rollers instead of wheels. By the end of the week I was riding a normal bike....it was so thrilling.

Anyways, after the camp they recommend specific bikes for each person. They also recommend types of training poles to fit on the end of bikes for extra support. Right now I'm out of twown, but when I get back home I'll try to send you some pictures of my adapted bike. I got the traininig poll from the program, but I'm sure your could email them on some ideas on where to get one for your son.

One more thing, is it okay if I post your email on my blog? I think it could get some interesting feedback!

The blog URL is http://dwellcp.blogspot.com/ . Don't be suprised if it looks very bare! It's just getting started! If you would like to be added as a contributer just tell me, and I will email you a request.

I hope all this helps! I can't wait to hear how it all works out!"



Any suggestions?

Dear Dwell

As a way for readers to contribute to this blog in other ways than writing their own posts, commenting, or reading, I would like to start something called Dear Dwell. The purpose of this would be to provide a way for readers or contributors to ask questions in a formal letter-style. I think this would be a great addition to the blog because a question could be asked and then subsequently answered by me in a paragraph response and by readers through the comment button. If so desired, writers of questions for Dear Dwell may remain completely anonymous. Please email your questions for Dear Dwell to my email address: comptonann@gmail.com 

Let me know what you think of this idea!