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By Jody Steinberg
Caitlin O’Connell is not different from any other six-year-old who likes to
hit a baseball and run the bases. She also enjoys being with the friends she
has made through the North Metro Miracle League (NMML) of Marietta, one of
eight in Georgia. "We have needed something like this so badly," says
Caitlin’s mother, Ellen, a special education paraprofessional at Alpharetta
Elementary School. "It really builds her confidence and self-esteem."
The parent-founded Miracle League Association (MLA), which began with the
Field of Dreams in Conyers in 1997, has mushroomed to a national movement
with 55 leagues in operation or development says Diane Alford, MLA executive
director. The MLA encourages affiliates to align with existing sports
programs and convert one field in a ballpark or complex for ML play.
"We don’t talk about building a program for kids with disabilities, we want
one that embraces ALL children because it’s the right thing to do," explains
John McLaughlin, NMML director.
The new NMML facility will have one specially level-graded, synthetic turf
field for ML sports, as well as fields that can be used by local softball
and little leagues whose players are already volunteering with ML. It will
be universally accessible and designed to enable natural interactions
between athletes of all abilities, which McLaughlin believes will lead to
friendships and attitudinal shifts.
Is a community sports experience like Miracle League in your family’s
future, or are athletics just another place where your child doesn’t quite
fit in? The good news for kids in Georgia is that some of the nation’s
leading adapted sports programs are based here, and many are working their
way into local parks and recreation and community groups, giving young
athletes with disabilities the chance to be included in the same community
league as their neighbor or sibling.
Whether your child plays in an adapted league dedicated to people with
disabilities, or on a local community league, it is a personal decision each
family must make. For some, the way we define inclusion drives that
decision: does inclusion mean all players, regardless of disability, being
equal on the same team, or does it mean creating opportunities for athletes
with like experiences (and similar disabilities) to interact and connect
through sports?
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
For some programs, the goal is interaction. Local athletes with disabilities
partner with able-bodied athletes to practice together, coach, mentor and be
friends. this builds community between leagues, and offers opportunities for
siblings and parents to be involved.
Special Olympics (SO), a program with a rich history in providing recreation
and competition for athletes with developmental disabilities, has always
emphasized participation over competition. Participants move into
competition that includes every player, regardless of ability. For
participants who spent years on the sidelines watching, that is enough.
"The first time I stepped on the ice, that’s when I loved it," says Casey
Brennan, 26, of Stone Mountain. The SO gold medal ice skater and global
messenger who has competed throughout Georgia and the East Coast, at World
Summer Games in Alaska and Switzerland, and plans to compete this summer in
Ireland.
With more than 15 years of SO participation in numerous sports, the Publix
employee, whose brother Ray, 35, also competes in SO, loves team practice,
the health benefits of staying active, and the social life.
"Special Olympics is great fun, especially when you travel," Casey says.
"You meet new friends and old friends. We have dances and parties, we stay
out late every night, trade pins, get autographs from celebrities. It’s
really fun."
"The benefits of Special Olympics have been amazing for my kids," says
mother Kelly Brennan. She credits the positive impact of the SO's emphasis
on teamwork, getting along with others and modeling appropriate behavior as
being key to her children’s successful, long-term employment. "They are very
well rounded, have friends all over the world, and experiences of going out
and doing things with their friends." For parents, the joy of seeing
children thrive is rivaled only by bench time together, when parents who
hunger for networking and parent support enjoy a stimulating respite from
caregiving. The casual interaction and friendships taken for granted by most
weekend sports families offers a spring of hope for parents used to being
isolated with their children.
DISABILITY SPORTS LEAGUES
For others, particularly older teens and young adults with physical
disabilities or who are blind, full-scale competition is the goal. Sports
leagues such as wheelchair basketball and hockey, tennis, rugby, track and
swimming, provide an opportunity for competition.
The United States Disabled Athletes Fund (USDAF), a legacy of the 1996
Atlanta Paralympic Games, has developed a model for Georgia Parks and
Recreation to establish Blaze Sports competitions, camps and recreation
programs for children and adults with physical disabilities. The
6,000-member National Parks and Recreation Association is gradually
implementing the model around the country, explains Kay McKenzie, vice
president of communications for the USDAF. They also train recreational
professionals to implement them. Athletes might practice with a local
league, then swim with their team at competitions.
Maggie Fredericks, 12, a seventh-grader at Mt. Paran Christian School, uses
a wheelchair. She was born with spina bifida. Maggie participates in Blaze
Sports basketball, track and field and swimming. She and her friends look
forward to sports weekends and summer camp in Warm Springs, as well as other
regional and national athletic gatherings.
"I like meeting all the people involved with the program. Everyone is fun to
be around, and they have helped me have a better attitude towards life. I
enjoy hanging out with the coaches and athletes," says Maggie. "I think it’s
also helped me become faster and stronger, and the coaches help me get
better at sports.”
Another national program based in Georgia is the AAASP (American Association
of AdaptedSport™ Programs), which has partnered with the Georgia High School
Association to provide competitive interscholastic adapted athletics to high
school students with physical disabilities and visual impairments.
Many people look forward to a day when barriers to participating in any
aspect of community simply do not exist. But until that day becomes a
reality, adapted sports programs are working hard to level the playing field
for athletes of all abilities.
“Bring your child to baseball, ” Caitlin advises parents. “She can watch me,
then she can be on my team. It’s fun!”
In addition to the obvious health benefits, participating in community
sports for children with disabilities increases socialization, teaches life
long skills and provides a chance to accomplish personal goals.
A recent study done by Georgia researchers, sponsored by the American
Association of AdaptedSport™ Programs, found that athletes with disabilities
increased their strength, coordination, flexibility and endurance after just
10 weeks in a sports program.
Other benefits include a decrease in behavioral problems, depression, and
secondary health complications; an increase in academic performance; and
enhanced social interaction at school and at home.
Reprinted with permission from Making a Difference magazine.
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School systems are responsible for assuring that transition planning becomes
a component of the IEP beginning at age 14; however, it may be necessary to
start transition planning much earlier in order to allow the student to
achieve meaningful post-school outcomes. (From the Georgia Department of
Education's Transition Manual) Read more about the topic in the
Roadmap
Transition section. |
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