Hands on independence

By, Katherine Granich

India’s pink handcycle gives her the freedom to be just another happy kid at the park, riding her cool pink bike and hanging out with her friends.

Four-year-old India doesn’t realise it yet, but she’s a pioneer. She has the distinction of being the first child in Australia to use a customised paediatric handcycle – a specially designed kid-sized tricycle that’s propelled via hand cranks. But to India, zooming around the park on her candy-pink Theraplay Tri-Lo, she’s simply a kid riding her bike, just like her friends.

“India’s legs can’t carry much weight, as she has caudal regression syndrome, otherwise known as sacral agenesis, with lower limb contractures,” her mum Ileana explains. “She has a very strong upper body, and while she can use a walker, it’s quite tiring for her – not to mention slow going.

“So India prefers to bear crawl on her hands and feet instead, and she’s very fast. She also uses a wheelchair. But now, when she goes to the park and her little brother is riding his trike, and her friends are riding their bikes, India is right there with them riding her handcycle.”

India’s handcycle came into her life in July 2024, but it took a bit of time and perseverance to make it happen. Her mum Ileana belongs to an internet-based international support group for caudal regression syndrome, and took note of the equipment children in other countries were using. “We saw other children who had handcycles, so we knew this would be an option for India at some point, we just didn’t know how old she’d need to be,” Ileana says.

“When India was about three, I mentioned it to her physiotherapist Trish, but she couldn’t find any handcycles available in Australia that were small enough for a young child.”

Trish expanded her search beyond Antipodean shores and and discovered UK-based company Theraplay, which designs and manufactures specialised handcycles suitable for children from the age of two-and-a-half. Theraplay has been in business for over 40 years, after the company’s founder, engineer and racing cyclist Ian Macdonald, was approached by a charity working with children with spina bifida and asked to design and produce a hand- driven tricycle they could use. The company now has 21 cycles in various sizes and styles, including the Tri-Lo – which seemed perfect for India. But could we get it here in Australia?

That’s where mobility equipment company Dejay comes into the story.

“Until India, most of the handcycles available in Australia were for older kids and adults, but the Theraplay Tri-Lo was specifically designed for young children,” says Leon from Dejay, whose team went to great efforts to import and customise India’s Tri-Lo handcycle.

While the Dejay team was working behind the scenes, Trish moved out of the state, but not before handing over to India’s new physiotherapist, Eliza at Child First Therapy.

“Every kid deserves to be able to ride a bike,” Eliza says. “We know it’s important for children with disabilities to participate in the community, and in everyday activities like bike riding. They just need the right equipment.

“For India, pedalling a bike with her legs and feet wasn’t an option, but she has a super strong upper body. Her handcycle will not only give her the ability to experience bike riding, it’ll also help to build her upper limb and trunk strength, grow her endurance, and develop skills what she can transfer across to disability sport in the future.”

Leon from Dejay concurs.

“India’s physiotherapist told me how strong she is, and showed me a photo of India doing gymnastics on the parallel bars – she’s definitely a Paralympian in the making, and using a handcycle will give her the chance to explore more sports.”

When the Tri-Lo finally arrived in Australia, India was over the moon, Eliza recalls. “From the first day, she was already pushing herself 20 or 30 metres on her handcycle. And then she didn’t want to get out of it when it was time to go home. I’m pretty sure she rode out to the car on that handcycle!”

And as with all of the mobility equipment they import and manufacture, Dejay was on hand to customise the Tri- Lo to India’s unique needs. “With the help of the Dejay workshop boys, we created some custom parts – spacers – so the foot cups and plate on the handcycle would fit India well,” Leon says.

Mum Ileana adds, “And when the steering needed to be adjusted, Leon was totally on board, getting it sorted straightaway. Nothing was too much trouble.”

India is still learning to use the Tri-Lo, but it’s already had a massive impact on her social life, Ileana says. “When we go to the park, India and her friends can ride their bikes together instead of India just being in her wheelchair. She’s got a bike, just like her friends, and she just loves it.”

While India will always be the first four-year-old in Australia to have a handcycle, Dejay is looking to bring in more of the Theraplay cycles in future – so she might have some competition in her future para sporting endeavours!

“When the Paralympics were taking place, India was asked, ‘Do you want to be a Paralympian?’ She replied, ‘No, I want to be Elsa,’” laughs Ileana. “She had no visions of doing anything athletic, but who knows where the handcycle will take her?”