Assistants help students with disabilities fit into mainstream classrooms everyday. Now they’re increasingly pitching in on the ball field as well.
A new legion of so-called “inclusion companions” or “leisure buddies” is helping kids with disabilities by providing extra, personalized coaching on the sidelines. The assistance enables these kids to play organized sports right alongside their typically developing peers.
Depending on a child’s needs, an assistant could guide a child on where to stand while playing defense, provide instruction on interacting with teammates or literally translate using sign language.
Proponents of the model say everyone gains from including kids of differing abilities in sports. Children with disabilities learn valuable social skills and everyone learns to be accepting of differences.
But there are concerns as children age and sports tend to get more competitive. “If parents don’t see their kids doing well on the field, they pull them,” one expert told the Chicago Tribune. To read more click here.
At The Arc of Greensboro in Greensboro, NC we offer three different sports through our Challenger Sports League for school-age children with developmental disabilities. In each of our three seasons of baseball, basketball and bowling, we encourage inclusion and the support of siblings or buddies to help our athletes learn the rules of the game and enhance their skills.
Many of our athletes have participated in sports leagues through parks and recreation departments or other similar outlets, but feel discouraged when they don’t pick up the skills as quickly as their teammates. The Challenger League encourges everyone to do their best. We do not pick one winner out of a group of athletes. We work with a group of athletes who are all winners!