Participants
Dr Diane Lees-Murdock, Ulster University
Dr Erin Byrd, Ulster University
Conor McGilloway, Foyle Down’s Syndrome Trust
Ulster IPE-Pod 3/8
In this episode I discuss the Cycle-IN programme with Dr Erin Byrd, Ulster University, School of Sport & Conor McGilloway, Health & Wellbeing Officer, Foyle Down’s Syndrome Trust. The Cycle-IN programme was designed under the premise that: ‘Every child should be given the opportunity to learn how to ride a bike’
The idea for the ‘Cycle-IN’ program was conceived by researchers at Ulster University with Foyle Down Syndrome Trust. The programme was developed by researchers at Ulster University using a constraints-led approach framework to support skill mastery. The programme is delivered as a supplementary ‘work-experience’ and volunteer opportunity project for undergraduate Sport, Physical Activity and Health and Occupational Therapy students, under the supervision of a physiotherapist and occupational therapist and with the support of volunteer staff from Foyle Down Syndrome Trust.
The sessions run 1x/week for 15 weeks for 1 hour. The approach supports the development of balance and mobility on a balance bike before progressing to pedal cycling. Sessions begin with free exploration of the environment through movement on the bike, follow by more structured games-based activities with limited rules and instructions to support the children to develop solutions to the movement themselves. Each child will be progressed in an individualised manner to support skill development. A cycling skills checklist adapted from (Ducheyne et al. (2014)) will be used to monitor progress through the programme and help student facilitators to support the progression of the children towards learning to cycle. Erin and Conor discuss the success and challenges of this interprofessional approach and how students from different disciplines learned together while delivering this project.