‘Reverse inclusion:’ Program offers kids a view of adaptive sports
The best way to learn about something is to participate in it. And that’s how a group of Lee’s Summit students are studying inclusion.
Longview Farm Elementary students took to the basketball court in wheelchairs and tried to find beeping balls while blindfolded as a way to learn about adaptive sports. Adaptive sports are modified to accommodate the needs of people with physical, cognitive, emotional or behavioral challenges.
Midwest Adaptive Sports offered the program during physical education classes at Longview Farm Elementary to give students the experience of participating in the sports. The organization has presented the program in about 30 area schools. One of the organization’s board members, Stan Weston, says they call the experience “reverse inclusion.”
“Everybody plays the sport as if they have the disability. It’s really neat to see,” Weston said.
During the Midwest Adaptive Sports program, half of a class has the opportunity to learn the rules and play wheelchair basketball. The other half learns what it would be like to play sports without sight by taking on activities blindfolded.
“We adapt sports and recreation activities, and we talk about how simple it would be for them to help someone out,” Weston said.
The goal of the program is to help kids understand people with disabilities are just like them.
“Even if you have a disability, you are a person and you want to do the same things other people want to do. You want to do video games, and watch TV and play sports,” Weston said.
At Longview Farm Elementary, students had the added opportunity to learn from one of their classmates. Isaac Murdock, who uses a wheelchair, participates in Midwest Adaptive Sports programming as a wheelchair basketball athlete. He is also a student at Longview Farm Elementary. Murdock helped introduce the sport to fellow students at his school, along with two former Mizzou wheelchair basketball players.
Longview Elementary physical education teacher Tiffani Semkin says Murdock normally participates in PE class. This opportunity gave him the chance to be the teacher. All fourth, fifth and sixth grade physical education students had the chance to take part in the adapted activities.
“The kids really enjoyed it. Some of them asked if we could do it every day,” Semkin said.
Midwest Adaptive Sports representatives were at Longview Farm Elementary for three days in early January. Murdock says they have plans to also go to Hawthorne Hill Elementary and Lee’s Summit North this year.
About 200 youth ages 24 and younger participate in Midwest Adaptive Sports programs, which include adaptive basketball, softball, rugby, snow skiing and water skiing. Midwest adaptive sports has hosted the national wheelchair softball tournament the last two years.
This year the organization is using a grant from the NFL to also start wheelchair football.
This story was originally published February 8, 2020 at 12:00 AM.