Introduction

by Joanne Bauman

Most children have the option to participate in recreation, after-school activities, weekend team sports, and summer camps. At school, they have a chance to exercise in physical education classes and on the playground at recess. However, these opportunities for fitness and leisure are limited for children and adolescents with disabilities. Children with disabilities want to have friends, enjoy activities, have a break from parents, and be included like everyone else. Like other children, their interests range from swimming and sports, to visiting parks and playgrounds, attending summer camps, and just hanging out with friends.

Multiple barriers can stand in the way of fitness and leisure for children with disabilities. Many parents are apprehensive to encourage their children to become involved, because of the range of obstacles they were likely to encounter. Yet, many resources are making it possible for children with disabilities to participate in leisure options, and as this demand increases, more programs are likely to develop and grow.

Public Attitudes

At pools, playgrounds, gyms, and other facilities, parents and children say that they feel uncomfortable when they experience stares and comments. Parents voice frustration that many people do not seem accustomed to seeing children with varying disabilities in public. It can be difficult to endure when insensitive people ask, "What's wrong with him?? or "Will she pee in the pool?" Some parents of children with disabilities such as brain injuries and autism note that people sometimes cannot accept behaviors and reactions that might result from a child being overstimulated or having difficulty adjusting to the loud noises and acoustics of a gym or pool.

One way to dispel attitudinal barriers is to include images of children and youth with various disabilities in publicity for parks, gyms, camps, and community recreation programs. Materials can show children with disabilities in shorts and swimsuits engaged in various sports and activities. Adapted youth sport exhibitions in the community can showcase activities such as wheelchair basketball. Persons with disabilities can speak to schools and organizations about fitness and recreation. The Kids on the Block provides educational puppet programs that enlighten children on the issues of disability awareness and encourage non-disabled children to interact with children who have disabilities. Research shows that children who are educated together, instead of in segregated settings, are more likely to learn tolerance and acceptance. It makes sense that inclusive recreation would offer the same benefits.

Lack of Recreation

In most team sports and organized activities, adults coach with the emphasis on being aggressive and competitive, as in professional sports. The goal is to win, and not to get together, have fun, and benefit from exercise. With an over-emphasis on performance and winning, children with disabilities may find few opportunities to be included in school, after-school, and weekend team sports.

Across the nation, adapted physical education is moving children with disabilities off the sidelines, in physical education classes. Adapted physical education is an individualized program of physical and motor fitness; fundamental motor skills and patterns; and skills in aquatics, dance and individual and group games and sports designed to meet the unique needs of individuals (Winnick, 2000). It is generally designed to meet long-term (greater than 30 days), unique needs of students with disabilities (Winnick, 2000). Classes are provided by a regular physical education teacher or by a full-time adapted physical education teacher. Adapted physical education provides students with the opportunity to participate in a regular physical education program.

In addition, after-school sports programs for physically disabled or visually impaired youth are developing through the efforts of organizations including Project ASPIRE (Adapted Sports Programs In Recreation and Education). Through Project ASPIRE, the American Association of Adapted Sports' Programs (AAASP) joins forces with leading authorities in sport and physical fitness to lay the foundation for a network of school-based adapted athletic programs across the United States.

Many cities are offering adaptive recreation classes and sports such as basketball, baseball, softball, bowling, and tennis. Local parks and recreation departments have more information on city adaptive recreation options. Students with disabilities also need to participate equally in other after-school activities, such as 4-H, Scouting, the arts, and other enriching experiences.

Physical Access

It's one thing to have a community park, playground, pool, or gym, but the important issue is whether the child can actually use the structure. What's fun for a kid using a walker to go to a playground surfaced in wood chips only to watch other children swing, use the slides, and play in the sandbox? Access begins with sufficient parking, accommodations for vans with lifts, doors that open easily, elevators or ramps inside buildings, accessible bathrooms, changing stations or universal access rooms, barrier-free entry to pools, and adaptive equipment. In addition to play equipment that can accommodate wheelchairs, parks and playgrounds need lower drinking fountains, restrooms or availability of accessible port-a-potties, picnic tables that can accommodate wheelchairs, and barrier-free surfacing (i.e., not wood chips). Arenas, stadiums, and ball diamonds need line-of-sight seating, seating with additional room, and accessible concession counters.

Boundless Playgrounds (Boundless Playground Link) and Hadley's Park (Hadley's Park Link) are examples of the numerous growing prospects in recreation for children with disabilities. The mission of Boundless Playgrounds and Hadley's Park is to improve the lives of children by helping communities create exciting universally accessible playgrounds that allow children of all abilities to have fun and safe play environments so they can interact with each other and play to their highest potential. Accessible playgrounds can include wheelchair-accessible platform swings, lowered monkey bars, elevated sand boxes and water play tables, talk tubes, turning wheels, play walls with all sorts of push buttons and cranks, wide slides and ramps, all to accommodate children who use wheelchairs, walkers, or leg braces. Resources on accessible playgrounds are included below.

A variety of adapted sports programs across the nation offer skiing, horseback riding, scuba diving, tennis, softball, rafting, hiking, fishing, canoeing, sailing and organized trips for people of almost all ages with all types of disabilities. Information at the end of this article can help you find adapted programs in your area.

In addition, there are many opportunities for summer camps that offer all people with disabilities an opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. Camps range from overnight to day camps, residential camps, and respite camps and offer various opportunities from sport activities to arts and crafts. For example, Easter Seals (Easter Seals Link) offers nationwide camping and recreational programs for children and adults with various disabilities at more than 140 facilities across the United States. For more camp listings, see the KidsCamp (KidsCamp Link) and NCPAD (NCPAD Link) camp programs Web sites.

National parks and state parks also offer accessible campsites, trails, and facilities for families and children. Visit the National Park Service Web site (,a href="/organizations/index.php?id=870&state=District%20of%20Columbia&city=Washington" target="_blank" title="This page opens i a new window">NPS Link), the Greater Outdoor Recreation Pages (GORP Link), the National Accessibility Center (NCA Link), or NCPAD (NCPAD Link) Web sites for additional information.

Transportation

Having to travel outside of a home area to find accessible facilities, programs, or camps is often a reality for families. In larger cities, travel time and assistance may take more time than parents are willing to spend. Short lessons or restricted swim times may not justify the effort. In rural areas, accessible options for exercise may not even exist or are so far away that driving isn't even realistic. Regular means of public transportation, such as taxis and buses to get children to school events and games, are often inaccessible because they are not lift-equipped. Paratransit options are rarely considered for community parks and recreation classes, trips, and camps.

Many communities offer some sort of transportation for persons with disabilities such as an accessible city bus system, paratransit buses, accessible taxis, or private service companies. School systems may be required to provide transportation to events, field trips, and other activities. Parents should discuss their needs with school district personnel. Independent living resource centers, developmental disability organizations, and other regional agencies sometimes have transportation options as well. Under the ADA, community parks and recreation classes and programs must make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities. Some adapted sports programs offer transportation services.

Finances

Families of children with disabilities may already feel the financial crunch from medical bills, medical equipment costs, prescriptions, transportation expenses, and so forth. The budget for recreation and leisure, school sports, or summer camp is limited. Parents also say that frequently they pay for a family outing, such as a day at the water theme park, only to find that their children with disabilities cannot participate or get very little out of the facility. Specialized activities, such as adapted sports or classes, may be noninclusive family events.

A good number of adapted programs recognize that persons with disabilities and their families, siblings, and friends want to participate in recreation together. Communities are developing accessible recreation options, such as ski resorts, because the average person with a disability wants to bring family or friends for leisure and the community benefits in turn by food and lodging dollars. Sliding-scale fees, scholarships, grants, and corporate support also help make programs and activities more affordable. Many adapted sports programs are free or at little cost to consumers.

Assistance

Another obstacle to recreation is the need for assistance in order to participate. Unless a parent accompanies a child, there is no staff to assist with dressing, transferring, etc., in most pools and gyms. Parents find it frustrating when staff members are unaware of accessibility features such as roll-in swim chairs, flotation devices, or how to operate adaptive equipment, such as a pool lift. Parents and youth want the assistance of friendly, helpful staff and skilled instructors. In gyms, summer camps, and schools, parents would like to see peer mentors with disabilities or employees with disabilities to serve as role models for their children. Especially during adolescence, children need someone to look up to who is a positive influence as well as personal time to be with friends away from parents. It would be helpful to give children a chance to meet, compete, and socialize with peers with disabilities and other athletes with disabilities.

One option for assistance is that a personal care assistant (P.A.) can accompany the person with a disability and help as needed. P.A.s cannot be charged fees for accompanying an individual with a disability.

Many fitness professionals and adaptive recreation professionals are employed by fitness centers, pools, and communities to provide knowledgeable assistance. In some communities, volunteers are available at gyms, pools, and facilities to help with transfers, operating equipment, and assisting in other ways as needed. Sometimes, recreation therapy students or adaptive recreation students provide assistive services as part of their educational training. Staffers are also taking advantage of continuing education workshops being offered nationwide on a variety of disability issues.

Another option is to request an inclusion aide. An inclusion aide will assist the person with a disability so that he or she may fully participate in existing recreation or leisure programs. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that all programs and services for people with disabilities must be provided in the most integrated setting possible.

When parents register their child for a class or program, they need to indicate on the registration form that their child has a disability that requires an accommodation. An assessment will be given and a decision will be made to determine if an inclusion aide is needed. The inclusion plan will contain the reasonable modification needed for participation.

Hopefully, more and more facilities like Crosstrainers Fitness Forum in Michigan (Crosstrainers Link), which is owned and operated by persons with disabilities, will emerge. Adapted programs and camps rely extensively on trained personnel and volunteers to provide safe, accessible, and rewarding recreational experiences. Through these opportunities, children can connect with others with similar disabilities as well.

Varied Activities

Children and parents would like to see a variety of activities for varying disabilities. Sometimes children with developmental disabilities, children with visual impairments, and children with physical disabilities are placed together in programs and events. A child who has cerebral palsy can have a hard time playing basketball as children with spinal cord injuries zip around in wheelchairs.

Although sometimes a program will combine children with varying disabilities to meet the quotas for keeping a program operating in some locals, many specialized programs and camps are developing. For instance, there are summer camps specific to children with diabetes, cancer, burns, autism, developmental disabilities, and spinal cord injuries. Numerous organizations have been developed for athletic participation by persons with disabilities, including Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA Link), Special Olympics (SO Link), International Sports Organization for the Disabled (ISOD Link), International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (CISS Link), and International Paralympic Committee (IPC Link). This list is a small sample of the organizations that are available.

Many adapted programs are inclusive of all ages and all disabilities and may even include non-disabled peers and siblings to grow beyond the segregated settings that have existed for so many years. Variety gives children a chance to try different sports, adds to the skills developed, and increases the likelihood of finding activities for lifetime participation.

Benefits

Physical fitness is an important benefit of sports participation. Physical recreation programs in the community may be a cost-effective means of preventing secondary health conditions, such as obesity and diabetes, resulting from low levels of fitness. Just like their non-disabled peers, children with disabilities need an outlet for their physical energy. Physical activity increases a child's ability to cope with stress and anxiety. Self-esteem and building friendships follow closely as another benefit of participation. Socialization is important to mental health and well-being and can help a child be more self-sufficient and confident.

Another valuable lesson all children could learn is that it is okay not to win. Learning skills, setting goals, having fun, and being part of a team are important experiences. Children and youth with disabilities see another benefit as well; with resources and support to enable them to participate freely in fitness and recreation, they can begin to challenge some of the barriers and just have fun like everyone else.

About the Author

Joanne Bauman, a member of NCPAD's REC-TECH Advisory Committee, has a master's degree in clinical psychology and has counseled persons with a variety of disabilities, including traumatic brain injury. She is pursuing training in herbal medicine to incorporate with psychology into a holistic health practice. Her personal experience with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis led her to health and rehabilitation psychology.

Organizations

1. America's Athletes With Disabilities :
   Silver Spring , Maryland
2. Disabled Sports USA (DSUSA) :
   Rockville , Maryland
3. National Center on Accessibility (NCA) :
   Bloomington , Indiana
4. National Center on Physical Activity and Disability :
   Chicago , Illinois
5. North American Riding for the Handicapped Association, Inc. (NARHA) :
   Denver , Colorado
6. United States Adaptive Recreation Center :
   Big Bear Lake , California
7. Texas Adaptive Aquatics, Inc. :
   Houston , Texas
8. Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped (SABAH) :
   West Seneca , New York
9. Skicentral :
   Orleans , Ontario
10. Yoga for the Special Child :
    Sarasota , Florida
11. Lekotek :
    Chicago , Illinois
12. Adaptive Adventures :
    Evergreen , Colorado
13. Boundless Playgrounds :
    Bloomfield , Connecticut
14. Hadley's Park :
    Bethesda , Maryland
15. National Park Service :
    Washington , District of Columbia
16. National Consortium on Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities :
    Slippery Rock , Pennsylvania
17. Shake-A-Leg :
    Newport , Rhode Island
18. Internet Resources for Special Children :
    Cincinnati , Ohio
19. Bandaides and Blackboards :
    Fairfield , Connecticut
20. Therapeutic Recreation Directory :
    Morgantown , West Virginia
21. New Jersey Adapted Physical Education Council :
    Trenton , New Jersey
22. PE Central :
    Blacksburg , Virginia
23. Texas Women's University Adaptive Physical Education :
    Denton , Texas
24. Greater Outdoor Recreation Pages :
    Washington , District of Columbia
25. American Association of adaptedSports Programs (AAASP) :
    Atlanta , Georgia
26. Easter Seals :
    Chicago , Illinois
27. International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) :
    Aylesbury , Buckinghamshire
28. Deaflympics - International Committee of Sports for the Deaf :
    Frederick , Maryland
29. United States Paralympics :
    Colorado Springs , Colorado

Suppliers

1. Flaghouse :
   Hasbrouck Heights , New Jersey
2. Freedom Concepts Inc :
   Winnipeg , Manitoba
3. Innovative Products, Inc. :
   Grand Forks , North Dakota
4. Dragonfly Toy Company :
   Winnipeg , MB
5. Enabling Devices :
   Hastings-on-Hudson , New York

Books

1. Winnick, Joseph P. (2005). Adapted physical education and sport. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics.

This fact sheet was last updated on 12-21-2005.

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