Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

Lateral movement and autism

Excerpt from: Autism Support Network (click for full article)

 

When discussing sports or, more importantly, preparing for life skills and daily challenges, it is necessary to address all facets of movement. Basically, we move in all sorts of directions throughout the day, and the more we can practice or train the proper way to perform these actions, the less likelihood of injury, greater ability to perform complex movements, and more joy of movement we are able to develop. Forgive my Andy Rooney approach here, but I think joy of movement is something that children have lost over the last decade. I can recall playing outside, running around, tumbling, falling, getting back up, and climbing around for hours. I do not see too many young individuals playing outside anymore, and when I see adolescents and teenagers playing pickup games of basketball or football, the hours spent in front of the television or playing video games is clearly evident. Within the world of autism, I notice a consistent trend of poor lifestyle accommodations (television, sitting for long periods of time, little physical activity) being combined with the movement inhibition and difficulties that many young individuals with autism experience.

Sports are highly evolved activities requiring very specific and complicated movement patterns. To expect a young individual to be able to play a sport with any amount of skill when they do not have the basic physical foundations necessary is unfair and potentially dangerous. Having said that, I will try to steer this article around to the point of being fun.

One of the most commonly overlooked physical skills is changing direction. When we run, stop, and move in a different direction in sports or during daily life, we depend on lateral motion. Lateral motion refers to side-to-side movement. Being able to stop in mid-sprint, turn right or left, and begin running again is one of the most difficult and important skills a human body can perform. Do we use lateral motion on a daily basis? Sure. Getting in and out of a car is lateral motion. Standing up from behind a desk is lateral motion. Stepping up or down from a curb can be a lateral motion.

A Special Hockey Weekend

Excerpt from: Special Needs Truth (click for full article)

 

 

12 Important Things to Remember about Adaptive Sports for Children with Disabilities

Excerpt from: Disability Blog (click for full article)

 

Finding sports opportunities for kids with disabilities is not always as simple as going down to the local soccer club during the first week of March for sign-ups.  Many families are not located near an existing adaptive sports team.  Hopefully including children with disabilities in sports will soon get even easier, thanks to new guidance from the U.S. Department of Education that clarifies that school districts are legally obligated to provide equal access to extracurricular athletic activities to students with disabilities.

At the link above, there is an outline of the stepsone family took that lead to their son attending the National Junior Disability Championships (NJDC) in 2011 as an independent athlete, and eventually lead to their family starting a local team for kids with disabilities in the Western Pennsylvania area, Strong as Steel Adaptive Sports.

Michigan High School Athletic Association: Schools understand obligation to students with disabilities

Excerpt from: MLive (click for full article)

 

Michigan schools understand their legal obligation to provide students with disabilities equal opportunities to participate in sports, according to Jack Roberts, Michigan High School Athletic Association executive director.

That understanding began before the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a letter in January affirming the decades-old law.

“I think schools understood before this letter very well that they were obligated under the law to make reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities...so far as they could without altering the fundamental nature of the sporting activity,” Roberts said. “That’s what the law has required and that’s what schools have been doing very well.”

Junior Seau's Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against NFL

Excerpt from: NPR (click for full article)

 

The family of former NFL linebacker Junior Seau has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL, the Associated Press is reporting.

According to the wire service, Seau's family accuses the NFL of "acts or omissions" that "hid the dangers of repetitive blows to the head."

As we've reported, Seau committed suicide last May and a postmortem study of his brain by the National Institutes of Health found that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease associated with receptive injuries to the head.

The AP reports that the family also included the helmet manufacturer Riddell Inc. in the suit, claiming it was "negligent in their design, testing, assembly, manufacture, marketing, and engineering of the helmets."

Players Still Dropping Gloves, but Picking Their Battles, in Ontario Junior League

Excerpt from: New York Times (click for full article)

 

Ty Bilcke of the Windsor Spitfires had more fights last season than any other player in the Ontario Hockey League. “My goal is to get 30-plus fights, and I will,” Bilcke said halfway through the schedule, and he wound up with 37, 14 more than the nearest challenger.

This season, the situation is different for Bilcke, the Spitfires and the O.H.L. because of a new rule aimed at limiting, but not eliminating, fighting. Known as the 10-fight rule, the regulation seems to be working so far.

Fights are down from 0.92 a game last season to 0.71 through Saturday, a reduction of about 20 percent. Although Bilcke is still the Spitfires’ heavyweight and shared the league lead with six fights, he was on pace to finish with 18, about half of his total last season. “I like it,” Bilcke said of the change. “Our league’s definitely better because of it.”

Mateen Cleaves, Lomas Brown, Tyrone Wheatley lead 2013 Michigan Sports Hall of Fame class

Excerpt from: Detroit Free Press (click for full article)

 

Former Michigan State basketball players Mateen Cleaves and Steve Smith were among those selected today for the 2013 class of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. The announcement was made at the Palace of Auburn Hills before tonight’s Pistons-Thunder game.

Others in the 57th induction class are: former Detroit Lions tackle Lomas Brown; former NFL coach Tony Dungy of Jackson; former Red Wings defenseman Mark Howe; U.S. Olympic basketball player Pam McGee of Flint; longtime Michigan diving coach Dick Kimball and former U-M running back Tyrone Wheatley.

"You know I'm originally from Miami," Brown said. "The Lions drafted me up here in 1985 and this has been home ever since. I love the state of Michigan. I'm a Michigander now. I'm not a Floridian anymore.

"Just like all Michiganders, we're resilient, we're tough. We have in there and that's what is going to get this state going back the way it's supposed to be."

Cleaves, who led Michigan State to the national championship in 2000, said: "Nothing against the Michigan (Sports) Hall of Fame, but when I found out who I was going in with, I was a little more excited. Lomas Brown, I don't want to make anybody seem old here, but I grew up watching you play."

Cleaves was drafted by the Pistons and played one season with them.

Smith, who led Michigan State to the Big Ten title in 1990, played 14 seasons in the NBA and was an All-Star with the Atlanta Hawks in 1997-98.

Detroit Red wings Alumni Association vs. United Cerebral Palsy Pucksters

From SkateWithoutLimits.org (click for more information)

Save the Date!

Saturday, March 30, 2013
Viking Arena, Hazel Park
Doors open: 3:30 pm
Sled Hockey: 4:00 pm
Alumni Game: 6:00 pm

Court Sacks NFL Retiree's Disability Benefits Claim

From Courthouse News Service: (click for full article)

The NFL does not owe "Mean" Gene Atkins extra retirement disability benefits for injuries he claims stem from his 10-year career in professional football, the 5th Circuit ruled Tuesday.

A three-judge panel declined to revive a federal lawsuit filed by Atkins, a former cornerback and safety with the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.

In July 2010, Atkins sued the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan, the NFL Supplemental Disability Plan and the Management Trustees of the NFL Player Retirement Plan in Austin Federal Court, claiming they "are liable to him for additional disability benefits because his disabilities arise from his 10-year NFL career."

ISHA to allow disabled students to compete in meets amid lawsuit

From Chicago Tribune: (click for full article)

With a federal discrimination lawsuit still pending against the Illinois High School Association, its board of directors voted Monday to open the door to some disabled high school athletes at state athletic meets this fall, according to the organization’s website.

The board agreed to allow disabled athletes to qualify for state meets and agreed to add three separate events for those with physical and visual disabilities — girls’ swimming and diving as well as cross country for both boys and girls.