It’s How You Play the Game

Sports and Kids with Learning Differences
By Jennifer Betts, M. Ed.

Athletic competition can have a powerful and positive impact on social skills and self-esteem. On the playing field, athletes with learning differences are fi nding success sometimes unavailable in the classroom.

The experts speak
Neuropsychologist Jason R. Freedman believes the nature of sports provides an alternative to classroom struggles while providing opportunities for the growth of self-esteem and skill mastery. He asserts that finding creative ways of dealing with the complexities of learning differences is critical to improving cognitive skills and emotional maturity. Sports offer rich opportunities to successfully tackle learning challenges such as problems with sustained attention, organizational deficiencies and lack of self-regulation. In the Journal of Leisure Research, educational psychology researchers concluded that participation in recreational activities can result in positive behavioral change and skill learning, direct visual memory, information or factual learning, concept learning, and attitude and value learning. Direct instruction of skills, the identification and use of short-term and long-term goals, and the “hands-on” context for sports often work well for children with disabilities. Research also indicates that interaction between children with and without learning disabilities benefits both and leads to a more positive attitude toward and understanding of children who struggle with disabilities.

The sports community
When students play sports, they participate in a complex social community among players, coaches, parents and officials. They encounter a diverse array of ethics and attitudes towards authority, player personalities and talents, and the boundaries of rules. They compete against all skill levels. Flexible thinking skills are necessary to shift actions or attitudes on behalf of the team (passing the ball or giving up playing time), which can be a less threatening and better reinforced way to meet expectations than in the classroom. The reinforcement is often immediate and powerfully motivating: a high-five from a teammate, an encouraging word from the coach or a cheer from the crowd. Coping with setbacks, too, becomes part of the fabric. When a baseball player is called out in a slide to home plate, part of his training is to shake off the call and move on.

Physical Benefits
Overall fitness, stress relief, fine-motor development and healthy habits can all result from participation in sports. Athletes often have a better understanding of how their bodies work and a better self-image than non-athlete peers. Research about the benefits of sports for girls has been particularly positive.Girls who participate in sports have more positive body images and healthy habits than girls who do not. The same is true for students who struggle with physical limitations or difficulties. For these children, the focus on mastering specific physical tasks, such as balance, coordination or muscle strength, has direct impact on the quality of their lives outside of the game. Learning through one’s senses, including kinesthetic learning, takes on distinct importance in the physical arena. According to Howard Gardner in Multiple Intelligence, for children who have bodily-kinesthetic intelligence or “body smarts,” such activity meets a need and hooks into an area of strength. For children with proprioceptive reception issues, the sensory input of sports can provide input in a meaningful and enjoyable way.

What could go wrong?
There are somepotential pitfalls to competitive sports. A student whose self-esteem is entirely wrapped up in athleticism to the detriment of other activities may have problems. Likewise, a talented athlete with anexaggerated ego may have trouble cooperating with teammates.Unfortunately, sports can sometimes provide children with models of inappropriate behaviors. Coaches or parents who yell at a referee or scandalous behavior by professional athletes, for example, can mar the experience. Parents can help athletes cope with some of these behaviors by discussing ways to show good sportsmanship. Athletes benefit when expectations about behavior are clearly stated and are a visible part of the activity. When it comes to other negative behaviors, such as bullying, adult intervention is important. Athletes should be encouraged to talk to their coaches about any uncomfortable situations. If that is not enough, parents should get involved by helping to clarify what is happening and how the situation will be handled. Bullying, hazing and other such behaviors are never excused as being acceptable in competitive sports.

A health concept of competition
Athletes learn that hard work doesn’t always guarantee success. The emphasis for the athlete should be on playing well, not winning or losing. A program’s (or a zealous adult’s) overemphasis on winning can create an overwhelmingly stressful environment for a child. It is important for concept of competition that protects athletes from unrealistic expectations about their performance on the court or field. Doing one’s best, rather than winning, is one key to a well balanced sports program. It is the job of parents, coaches, and school or program officials to enhance the benefits and minimize the problems of sports for children.

Which sport is best for my child?
It is important to work with your child’s personality and interests in finding a sport or physical activity. What does your child do for fun? Does he like playing with others or spending time with just one friend? Is he a natural leader?
Team sports with a faster pace (soccer, basketball, lacrosse)

• Children who like group projects and working with others
• Assertive and energetic children may enjoy the close contact with other children
• Children who can sustain energy for longer periods of time
• Children who enjoy running
• Children who don’t do well with too much down time

Individual Sports (martial arts, cross-country running, fencing, tennis)

• Children who are motivated to make individual goals
• Children who are comfortable working alone
• Less assertive children who need more space and independence
• Children who are nervous about performing “on demand”
• Children who like moving at a slower pace (golf)
• Children who have short bursts of energy (diving or football)
• Children who have difficulty running (volleyball instead of soccer)

Winning is fun and makes athletes feel successful. This is no different for kids with learning differences. But winning for these young athletes is not measured only by the score at the end of the game. Success comes in increased skills, a challenge met, a behavior modified and new friends made on the field. These successes benefit a child no matter what the score is. Remember, it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.

Jennifer Betts is athletic director and lower school principal at The Howard School (jbetts@howardschool.org). She has been a middle and high school teacher and coach in public and private schools in New York and Georgia. Jennifer has consulted in the areas of pedagogy, collaborative learning, new teacher preparation, curriculum development and critical thinking skills. She can be reached at 404-377-7436.

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