A Studio Created Skateboard Rigs For Kids With Cerebral Palsy And If This Video Doesn't Make You Smile You're A Total Poser
With bungee cords, wheels, rods, pipes & a skateboard, Brazil’s Studio Neuro has MacGyver-ed a contraption resulting in enormous smiles for kids with Cerebral Palsy at the Iapa Skate Plaza.
Cerebral Palsy affects movement, muscle tone and posture in ways that make daily life & participating in sports of any kind extremely challenging, so I love that people are getting creative to find adaptive ways around it.
According to LaughingSquid, two of those wonderful people are Studio Neuro’s Steven Pinto and Daniel Paniagua.
They work to ensure that children (and adults) who have cerebral palsy and other disabilities get to enjoy the fun things in life. With this sentiment in mind, the studio has built an incredible rig that allows a person with limited mobility to ride a skateboard.
The two men also created the event SkateAnima, a day of skating, contests and connection amongst those who haven’t had this opportunity before. The joy of each rider bounding over the hills of the skatepark is readily apparent, as is the joy of the riders’ caregivers.
The caption on the post above has a message well worth reading from the mother of the young skater (I used Google Translate so it’s a little choppy):
My son is 7 years old. He is a boy full of wills, desires, dreams. and one of them was for a long time skateboarding.
It turns out that he has cerebral palsy since suffering a stroke at 1 year and 8 months, and for children who have cerebral palsy, or any other kind of disability, having desires and dreams is not allowed. The world is always telling us no. We must not, we cannot, it will not work, there is no adaptation. We do not belong. For a long time I tried to supply this dream of John with other features.. bike, walker, electric double skate with me – I do not recommend for people who, like me, are able to trip on their own feet.
Nothing worked.. until I met @skate_anima – A project played by two amazing guys @danielpaniagua_ and @stevan_pinto who could not stand still in the dream of another young girl with cerebral palsy. She wanted the same thing as john: skateboarding. And these guys were restless thinking how absurd this structure makes children and young people not dream, no matter who they are.
Both of them, a physiotherapist and a psychologist, love skateboarding, and they thought it was only fair that every child could have a chance to love too: freedom, seeing him in the face, adrenaline. they invented, built, found a way to do the impossible as possible, and since then have fulfilled the dreams of many people, including John.
Yesterday the video of the first time John was with them (I’ll put in the stories) ended up in an important international skate platform, and so we are transforming what is normal, what belongs, who belongs, and what is possible. and the self-esteem of a guy who’s all proud around here. thanks @skate_anima for so much, always. You deserve the world. @berrics thank you for taking my lion for a ride.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a parent witnessing your child sidelined by any illness or injury, so I love that this not only gives children a chance to get out there, but also gives parents a chance to see their kids be kids and enjoy life, just like everyone else.
Here in the US there’s programs to help kids with adaptive ice skating, and clinics for adaptive skateboarding, and I hope to see more & more sprouting up. Good vibes.