July 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 38

Sports for All
Programs for kids with disabilities

hen Jasmine Taibi became involved with the G-ROW program for girls at Community
Rowing Inc. in Boston, she found an unexpected source of inspiration. Taibi spent
time helping with the organization's adaptive rowing program for kids and adults
with disabilities.
" Everyone in adaptive is really motivated, " Taibi, 17, says. " It pushes me to work
harder. If people in adaptive can row, anyone can do it. "
People with disabilities participate in all
kinds of sports that everyone else does.
From the popular wheelchair basketball
to golf, yoga, water skiing, cycling, and lacrosse, modified sports accommodate athletes in wheelchairs and with other special
needs. While Special Olympics focuses on
people with mental disabilities, some involved with sports say more programs
are needed for athletes with solely physical impairments. Among other organizations, U.S. Paralympics,
a division of the U.S. Olympic
Committee, is addressing that
need with its Paralympic Sport
Clubs for kids and adults

with physical disabilities. Paralympics has
partnerships with recreation departments,
medical facilities, nonprofits, and others.
" To a large degree, people in the U.S.
are not aware of a need for programs for
people with physical disabilities. This is
raising awareness on the grass-roots level, " says Sonya Norris, associate director
of community programs for the Olympic
Committee's Paralympic Division.
" It's a health and wellness issue, " Norris says. " There's an obesity issue with kids
regardless of whether they have a physical disability or not, but it's greater for
kids with physical disabilities, partly because there's less opportunity for them.
Parents and other caregivers don't realize
how easy it is to get a child in a wheelchair
involved with physical activity. A big part
of it is not knowing what the availability is,
or maybe there's nothing available in their
community. "
The sport clubs program includes about
110 groups around the country with a goal
of expanding to 250 clubs by 2012. Athletes,
some who use canes and wheelchairs, have
spinal chord injuries, visual impairments, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities.

" My kids are still into Facebook, texting, and
tweeting, but they're pretty physically active compared to most of their peers, " Vanderburg says. " But
pulling them away from a laptop is near impossible. "
Helped by parents, school officials, and other volunteers, Vanderburg accomplished the impossible.
In 2003 he started the Little 100, a bike relay for middle-school children that ran through 2007. The event
annually drew about 200 kids, including Vanderburg's. After a break to open another bike shop, he
plans to resume the race next spring.
" It's about getting kids active and turning them on
to cycling, teaching them about team sports, leadership, communication, self-esteem, " Vanderburg says.
To counter the trend of obesity, frequent distractions of cell phones, computers and electronic
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