Summer Fun for Special Needs Families

Some tips and ideas to help parents of children with special needs keep their kids active this summer!

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The importance of improving fitness skills cannot be underestimated. Many special needs children with low levels of interest in physical activity are often found to have decreased self-confidence. The American Heart Association has shown that physically active children show improvements in a wide variety of measures of psychological well-being—including self-esteem.

A vicious cycle can easily be established as both physical activity and self-confidence decline. A special needs child may feel inadequate when he thinks that he is unable to keep up with his peers and may avoid play situations. The child may find ways to compensate for lower skill level by staying indoors when possible, creating fictitious injuries, offering to be the game’s referee, or walking around the perimeter of the activity.

How can parents encourage their children to be physically fit? Simply put, make physical activities and games fun! The key to successful participation is creativity and positive reinforcement as well as scheduling a regular time during the week as family playtime.

Baseball Team for Children with Developmental Disabilitites Celebrates Season

BRAINTREE, Mass. - Nine years ago, Richie Fennell was playing baseball in Norwood with other children with developmental disabilities and looking for a league closer to his hometown of Weymouth.

So Richie and his mother Laurie, along with other volunteers, created Challenger Baseball in Braintree, which has grown from just a handful of teams and players to more than 120 kids and 10 squads over the past eight years. On Sunday night, all 10 took to Hollingsworth Park to play their final games of the season and take home trophies.

Richie, who has autism, is now 18 years old, a first-year Challenger coach and a high school graduate, planning to attend Cape Cod Community College in the fall with a focus on environmental studies.

"We have come a long way from two teams," he said before the final game on Sunday.

After playing in the league since it began, Richie said he wanted to contribute his knowledge of the game to younger players, and will likely coach at least one more season with the Dodgers.

"They have a blast," he said. "It's good to watch."

Choosing Own Leisure Activities Benefits Individuals on the Spectrum, Study Finds

Free time is not always a fun time for people with autism. Giving them the power to choose their own leisure activities during free time, however, can boost their enjoyment, as well as improve communication and social skills, according to an international team of researchers.
"For many of us, we look at recreation as a time to spend on activities that are fun and that are designed for our enjoyment," said John Dattilo, professor, recreation, park and tourism management, Penn State. "But for some people with disabilities, particularly those who have autism, these activities can be a source of frustration, simply because they didn't have a chance to make their own leisure choices."