These programs make sports special for children with disabilities

By Stephanie Dunnewind
Seattle Times staff reporter

	GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES Luise Frishholz, 8, hustles down the basketball court at Highline YMCA, with Michael Feltes-Sorenson, 10, in pursuit. Sports director Brian Incitti watches.
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Adapted sports for children with special needs have expanded beyond Special Olympics, but opportunities are still limited. At the same time, experts say it's vital for children with disabilities to get moving, both for their health and their self-esteem.

"Just as the general population of kids is becoming more overweight, so are special-needs kids," said Tammy Larson, a therapeutic recreation specialist at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, a St. Paul, Minn. hospital for children with disabilities. "It's our newest, biggest challenge."

Physically fit children are better able to be independent and overcome challenges. "If you add obesity on top of a disability, the disability is magnified," said Dr. John Neff, director of Children Hospital's Center for Children with Special Needs.

For kids, though, it's not so much about exercise as getting to do the same things as peers: catch a baseball, ride a bicycle, shoot baskets, get a trophy.

"If a child can't balance, he might never get a chance to ride a bike," said Ed Bronsdon, executive director of the Bellevue-based SKIFORALL Foundation. "It's such a touchstone in growing up."

	Phillip Thelin, 9, receives encouragement from his mom, JoAnne Thelin, at a Highline YMCA special-needs children's basketball clinic.

SKIFORALL started offering accessible ski lessons in 1979; now some 1,500 children and adults with disabilities participate in everything from snowboarding to whitewater rafting to kayaking. "If you can buy it at REI, that kind of activity we do," Bronsdon said. "Sometimes people don't think it's possible, but we'll come up with the right adaptation to get that person out and active."

The group's most popular activity now is adapted cycling with its large fleet of hand-powered cycles, three-wheeled bikes and tandems.

"If you have a disability, there are so many ways that society tells you 'no,' " Bronsdon said. "If children are involved in (adapted sport) activities early on, it gives them a sense of what they can do: 'I can't do it that way but I can do it this way.' It changes their way of looking at things."

In addition to groups that specifically target people with disabilities, such as Special Olympics and SKIFORALL, more general sports organizations now offer adapted programs. These groups serve a wide range of special needs, from autism to cerebral palsy.

Little League Baseball's Challenger division for children with special needs has grown from five leagues and 100 children in 1989 to 850 leagues with 30,000 children today, said Jim Ferguson, national director of the program.

Some athletic groups are also developing inclusive activities that allow children with disabilities to play sports with siblings or friends.

	GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES At a Highline YMCA basketball clinic, coach Dave Will gives the kids a pep talk. From left, Phillip Thelin, Michael Feltes-Sorenson and Luise Frishholz.

JoAnne Thelin of Normandy Park approached the Highline YMCA about starting a skills clinic for baseball; it now offers an hourlong Saturday class during the baseball, soccer and basketball seasons that is open to anyone — including children with special needs — who wants to improve sports skills.

Thelin's son Phillip, 9, who has Down syndrome, played Tee Ball and soccer through second grade but found it too competitive last year. At the Y, players age 5 to 12 work on technique then play against each other for fun.

During a basketball game, for example, the baskets are lowered to 7 feet and no one's called for traveling or playing off sides.

"They don't emphasize winning — it's about having fun and respecting each other," Thelin said. "Any kid's disability or ability is the least important thing about them here. Not everybody plays the same, but if you show up and make an effort, you belong."

She likes the fact any child can participate, since most of Phillip's other sporting activities are exclusively for children with special needs. He skis with SKIFORALL, swims with Special Olympics and rides horses with a therapeutic program.

"His love of sports is immense," Thelin said. "He'll try anything. It's been a great thing for him and for his self-esteem."

Finding sports opportunities may require networking with other parents or a grassroots effort to get teams going, said Paul Brodeur, whose 16-year-old son, Austin, is a "jock." One of the reasons he and his wife moved from Monroe to Sammamish several years ago was to be closer to more activities for children with special needs. Now Brodeur is a Little League and Special Olympics coach, while Austin skis and plays basketball, baseball and tennis.

Locally, several Little Leagues offer co-ed Challenger divisions serving children age 5 to 18. The Little League district stretching from Queen Anne to Woodinville has a 12-year-old division with about 70 children, said coordinator Bev Newsome.

Depending on skill level, players might play Tee Ball or coach pitch; one might use a Whiffleball bat while another uses a regular bat. Players can use "buddies" on the field; for example, a sibling or parent can push a wheelchair around the bases. "We don't keep score, everybody hits and nobody gets out," explained Brodeur, Challenger Division vice president for the Sammamish Little League.

Teams for special-needs children really bring the sports back to where they're supposed to be for all kids, Thelin said. "This is the basis for a healthy lifestyle: Just getting out and exercising for the fun of it."

Stephanie Dunnewind: sdunnewind@seattletimes.com.

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