Helping children in wheelchairs in Germany
Children with disabilities navigate many obstacles. In Germany, one coach is helping a group of kids who use wheelchairs overcome challenges — while having fun.
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00:00Navigating curbs, racing up ramps, and perfecting the art of the wheelie.
00:05Child's play for the likes of Rosalie and Lisa.
00:09As two of the roly kids, the pair are honing their wheelchair skills in Brandenburg, Germany.
00:14Where else but a skate park.
00:18Really everything we do here is fun.
00:22Matthias Wagner volunteers his time to make sure the children practice new techniques safely.
00:28He himself has been using a wheelchair for only a year, so he too had to come to grips with the equipment.
00:35He tells us many new wheelchair users are overwhelmed at first.
00:40Typically new wheelchair users will go to their medical supplier, get their wheelchair, and that's it.
00:48We found this out of necessity and realized it can be good fun.
00:55The roly kids meet every week for practice.
00:58They learn how to fall properly and how to get back into their wheelchair.
01:04A few bruises are to be expected.
01:06Wagner advises wary parents not to be overly protective.
01:11What we impress upon parents is they need to have confidence in their children and their children's abilities.
01:20You have to learn not to go running over right away.
01:23There won't always be someone there 24-7 to say, it's not so bad, I'll help you up.
01:30Rosalie is one of the more experienced wheelchair users here.
01:34She's training for competitions, and Lisa has managed her first wheelie.
01:38A big help for getting over obstacles and curbs.
01:44It doesn't get any better than this. It's really great.
01:47It's just so nice to see her having fun.
01:51There's still a long way to go in terms of accessibility in Germany, Wagner says.
01:56He for one wants to take away the children's fears.
02:00For him, it's all a part of inclusion.
02:05You learn to approach society, and society learns to be a little more considerate.
02:10And where the two meet, that's inclusion.
02:15The Rollie Kids motto is learning through fun to overcome life's hurdles.