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Just like the other kids :Rare program allows disabled youngsters to play sports
Wednesday, January 23, 2002 By Susan Seibel
Challenged.
It's the label used most recently to describe someone who has a mental or physical disability, and no word could be more appropriate to describe Adam Davidson's struggle to play basketball like other children.
Adam, a boy with a tousle of brown hair and gentle brown eyes, has the intelligence of a typical 6-year-old, but cerebral palsy has taken from him his ability to speak and most of his ability to control his muscles. It hasn't, however, taken from him a love of sports and the passion to play, just like his classmates in the Hampton Township School District.
In the typical world, where children can run, grasp a basketball and jump with the hope of swishing it through a hoop, the challenge of playing basketball would be too great for a boy who can't walk. But thanks to a program aptly named Challenger Sports, Adam played basketball on a recent Sunday with about 20 other physically or mentally disabled youngsters, all of whom thrilled as fans cheered their efforts.
Not only is Adam playing basketball, but he'll play his second season of baseball this summer and, just like many of his friends, he's proud of his team and the baseball trophy he won last year.
Challenger Sports is a special division of the Ingomar/Franklin Park Athletic Association, but the program opens its door to any child or young adult, mostly ages 5 to 24, who wants to be on a sports team.
The program, managed by Sue Kern, attracts families from all over the area who want to give their children the chance to play soccer, basketball, baseball or hockey.
In Marshall Middle School's gym Jan. 13, Adam's dad, Scott Davidson, helped Adam stand and grasp the ball. When Adam achieved a precarious balance, his father gripped the boy's hands on the basketball and they shot it together.
It's was a good shot, ringing off the rim of the child-sized hoop, and although it's wasn't a basket, Adam's smile showed the effort was worth it.
Sports mean more than smiles to Adam, though. During a baseball game this summer, while they were standing in the outfield, waiting for the ball to come Adam's way, Davidson watched his son take his first steps ever.
"I was having him balance on his own for five seconds, and then 10 seconds, and then he just took four really big steps," Davidson said with pride. Fortunately, Adam's personal fan club of about 10 relatives and friends who come to every game saw those steps, too, including his 2-year-old brother, Noah.
"He gets oodles and oodles of therapy, but baseball has pushed him over the edge to walk. It put him over the top," Davidson said. "Today, during basketball practice, he ran for the first time. I was holding him up, but he was definitely running."
Davidson and his wife, Raye, feel Adam is fortunate to have found Challenger Sports, which happened through a chance conversation Davidson had with another parent of a disabled child. There aren't many programs like it.
Kern, of Ben Avon, said children who can handle competition can enter the Special Olympics, but not enough sporting opportunities exist for disabled children.
Challenger Sports began in 1992 when a couple with a disabled child brought the idea with them when they moved to the north suburbs of Pittsburgh from New Jersey. They had participated in Challenger baseball, a Little League offering, and they began the program in the Ingomar/Franklin Park Athletic Association.
Kern, who became commissioner of Challenger Sports in 1996, tries to make more people aware of it. She's an unpaid volunteer, as are the coaches, and she brings no formal training to her post.
"Other than I have a special needs child," she said, pointing to Phillip, 23, who waits his turn to shoot hoops.
She describes the philosophy of the program as "laid back."
"It's to help them feel good about themselves, have fun and develop camaraderie and skill. They're out there, playing sports like their siblings," said Kern, a single mother who works full time as an administrative assistant for UPMC. "Most of them have watched from the sidelines as their siblings played sports. Now there's a sense that, 'Hey, I'm doing this like everybody else does.' "
Players are separated into two groups based on age and ability to play. Basketball coach Keith Hall, 50, is doubly qualified to help. He was a physical education teacher for disabled children before changing careers and he also has a disabled son, Shane, 15, who thinks basketball is "awesome."
Hall knows the sports have helped his son feel as though he belongs to something important.
"As long as these kids can keep their skills up, they're not so isolated. They're a part of a group," Hall said.
Scott Baret, 15, of Hampton, has Asperger syndrome, which affects his coordination and impairs his ability to understand social situations. An intelligent young man, Baret appreciates playing basketball in a forgiving environment and can speak for those who might not be able to voice their thoughts.
"I like to see them get the chance to show off their good skills," he said. "They may not have the chance to do this at school."
After basketball practice, Adam's dad handed him a computerized communication device and asked whether he liked basketball. Adam pointed to the word yes.
Does he think he's a good player? Again, he pointed to yes.
"Say yes like you mean it," his dad prodded.
Adam smiled broadly, raised his arm high from his wheelchair and yanked down his fist in the well-known gesture of an emphatic "Yes!"
Just like any other kid.
For more information about Ingomar/Franklin Park Athletic Association's Challenger Sports, call Kern at 412-734-9174.
Susan Seibel is a free-lance writer.
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