Bike sets Jazlyn free

When she rode the bike, there was such a look of joy and satisfaction in her face that I never saw before,” said Mimi Sauer, Jazlyn LeClair’s grandmother and guardian. “She can stop and go backward, she can go around in circles. I steer for her, but she’s in control. When she sees we’re going toward her friend Christine’s house, she speeds up. It’s the first time she’s been able to be just like other kids.”

It wasn’t easy

Getting a bike for Jazlyn wasn’t easy. She first tried out an adaptive three-wheeler at physical therapy. Barely strapped in, she took off pedaling. Riding a borrowed bike near her home, she was excited and animated, clearly enjoying herself. She could interact with the world. It gave her a connection with neighborhood children. People treated her differently – more like a little girl than an object of pity. Unfortunately, the borrowed bike had to go back.

Physical therapy was painful

Jazlyn is 7 years old and has severe disabilities, including cerebral palsy, seizure disorder, medical problems, and multiple developmental delays. She has a feeding tube, and does not speak or walk. She needs help in everything she does. Physical therapy – to improve independent mobility and stretch her muscles – is painful.

Bike costs $3,500

An adaptive three-wheel bike costs $3,500. California Children’s Services would not pay for it because it was not medically necessary. North Bay Regional Center (NBRC) denied Sauer’s request to pay at least half the cost of the bike, saying it was not cost effective.

OCRA calls for fair hearing

Sauer contacted PAI’s Office of Clients’ Rights Advocacy (OCRA). Jackie Coleman, a clients’ rights advocate for consumers at NBRC, agreed to help Jazlyn get a bicycle. First, she filed for a fair hearing. In her hearing brief, Coleman noted that, under the Lanterman Act, California is responsible for providing services to people with developmental disabilities. Regional centers administer the services, which must be cost effective. Services are also supposed to allow those who receive them to:

• Approximate the pattern of living of nondisabled persons of the same age; and

• Lead more independent and productive lives in the community.

Judge says bike is cost effective

Following the fair hearing, the judge found that the bike was expensive, but that it was highly adaptable. And it would provide Jazlyn with many benefits not available from other activities or equipment. In his opinion, the judge wrote, “The bike is unique in affording claimant active mobility in a life where she has little control over where she goes and what she does. Unlike her other therapies, claimant actually has fun riding a bike.” He found that the bike was cost effective and ordered NBRC to pay for half the cost.

Wow! She can ride a bike!

Jazlyn has had her bike for about two months. “She just likes to be a kid,” says Sauer. “The other children in the neighborhood spoke to us for the first time when Jazlyn was on her bike. Before, they had always just smiled and waved. It was the first time they came over and talked to us and said, ‘Wow, I didn’t know she could ride a bike.’”

She’s just another kid

Jazlyn’s legs are stronger, too. “On days she rides the bike,” says Sauer, “it replaces the painful therapy she used to need. The band that holds her toes upward automatically stretches her muscles. She’s getting outside and getting exercise. Now she has play dates with other children; she can actually play with other children. On the bike she’s just another kid.”