I have been volunteering for the past few years as a “Buddy” for the Challenger division of Little League, in which student volunteers help special-needs children play baseball. This year, I was a “Buddy” for a 6th grade girl, Christina, who has a severe case of Down syndrome. She is nonverbal, has difficulty understanding things said to her, and loses focus very easily. When she arrived, none of the other volunteers wanted to be her buddy because of her extreme special needs. The organizers did not seem to know what to do about pairing her up with a buddy, and she was left alone sitting in the dugout staring into the distance. Although I was a little anxious, I felt sorry for her, and decided that I would be her buddy. I led her onto the field
It was the beginning of a new softball season, and I couldn't wait to get out there with my team. At our first practice I remember feeling back at home on the field. Just when I thought this was going to be our teams best season, my parents moved me to a private school. Leaving what I was familiar with was not an easy task, and deciding if I would continue my passion of softball with a different team was even more difficult.
I had always heard people talk about people they knew with disabilities as “the sweetest people you will ever meet,” but that phrase meant nothing to me until I met this group. I honestly could never have imagined the impact that they would have on my life. The next time that I went back after my first session, I had participants say things like, “You came back! Hi!” or “Look, it’s Megan! Megan everybody!” As an introvert, it is sometimes difficult for me to approach new people and immediately build relationships with them. This group of people has absolutely no issues waving at strangers to making friends effortlessly. They made me feel appreciated and loved having only been with them for one session, and this feeling grows each time I
As a kid, I was born and raised to love the great game of baseball. Many young kids have had dreams to become professional athletes, and achieve prestigious awards/ titles. Like many kids I’ve always dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. As a younger kid with my head in the clouds, I never really knew what it was like to put my actual blood, sweat, and tears into something I loved, until my worst season I had ever played. This whole story starts in the beginning of my ninth grade baseball season. It started out different from every other year because, of course I was a freshman. This was the first year I had ever practiced with the varsity squad, it was much more difficult, but I still figured I was going to do great. After weeks
One of these causes, the Miracle League of the South Hills is particularly close to my heart. A friend of my mother has a child who is severely autistic, and all my life my family and I have volunteered for many organizations to help special needs children, of all of these Miracle League has left the greatest impression on me. Ghandi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others,” and that is exactly what has happened to me during my long term association with the Miracle League. I truly believe my association with this organization has helped me to become a better person, more kind, caring, outgoing, and energetic. Miracle League was founded on the belief that, “Every child deserves a chance to play baseball.” Miracle League operates specially designed fields on which they bring the game of baseball to children who may have never had the opportunity to play on a real field. I volunteer with the Miracle League Buddy program. The Buddy Program pairs volunteers with a Miracle League player to help the player The buddy is there to protect the player from balls, assist the player in batting and running the bases, and to be a friend on and off the field. I began volunteering as a buddy in 2012, and in 2014 I became a Buddy Organizer for my team, the Tigers. As Buddy Organizer I do exactly what it sounds like, I am in charge of pairing up players with a
Growing up, I have always had a passion for baseball. To me, it is much more than just a sport. There have been times when it has acted as an escape from many problems in my life, as I feel that when I am on the diamond, nothing can hurt me. I am aware that many people feel this way about the sport they love, but sadly their careers often come to an abrupt end due to injury. I have a personal connection to this experience. The summer before my fourth grade year I was attending a basketball camp at Davidson College, when in the final seconds of a scrimmage game, my ankle was kicked out from under me. I immediately fell to the ground in pain as my ankle rolled over on itself. Coaches aided me in limping off of the court and to the training room
By know the other people disabilities you will interact better and will help the disable student better transition to blend in the community. Not be afraid of the unknown. As much knowledge you have on the different types of disabilities, the better person you become and more effective
What I remember is playing in a softball tournament in 2013 with my travel team. It was championship game day and to me, that day was very important. I was playing outfield and it was a new position for me so I had no idea what I was supposed to do besides catch the ball and throw it in to the middle infielders. I was unaware that the ball would be so slippery from the wet grass, which made it much more difficult to control. As the game continued, it started getting very intense and all we heard was the crowd continuously yelling after every pitch thrown or play made. Soon after the fifth inning began, a shallow fly ball was hit to where I was in left field; I began running for it and all of sudden everything went black. I felt like I had just
As I layed in my bed on a cold and windy Friday night, i could hear the roar from Fenway park across the street. The Red Sox had a game tonight against their long time rival the New York Yankees. Their games would always be so thrilling and so exciting to be at, i was a young 15 year old boy who like everyone else wanted to be a MLB baseball player. I had always dreamed about playing on that beautiful and playing against those Yankees. Living in Boston mostly everyone here absolutely hates the yankees. I was having a hard time going to bed so i looked outside and was looking at all the people outside walking outside the Ballpark.
Intense, never-wrecking, arousing and spine-tingling are the feelings of winning! Whether it’s a 3-legged-race with your best friend in sixth grade, or winning a state championship, everyone, including myself, gets caught up in that very part of it. Looking back now, I don’t think of the winning, you think of the memory and smiles shared with my friend; the same went with my teammates and me last year, in the region softball tournament.
Causton-Theoharis, J. C., & Malmgren, K. C. (2005). Increasing peer interactions for students with severe disabilities via paraprofessional training. Exceptional Children, 7(4), 431-444.
Softball was my main sport, but I did everything else until it was time to play softball. I fell in love with softball at an early age. I would play every summer or I was asked to play which helped me travel all over the place and meet new friends. Each year I played my love for the sport grew more and more. I played on multiple teams throughout the summer. Playing with one of my teams I gained the advantage to visit Santé Fe, New Mexico two years in a row to play softball. When I reached 8th grade I was excited about playing for the high school softball team until I figured out how it really was. Although I was not happy about having to sit on the bench, but I understood that I had to earn the privilege to play, and that the upperclassman were more seasoned.
city rivals, we were able to come together as a family, get our heads right mentally, and
It is the fifth inning. There is two outs, bases are loaded, and the score is nine to nine. This is the most important game of the season. It is the state championship.
I was always the person to shy away from a disabled person because I didn’t know how to handle it. I always thought if I avoided them I wouldn’t have to face the truth, which is I was very uncomfortable with disabled people. However, since our discussions in class, reading the book, and going to the event my views on the disabled have changed drastically since then. I learned that people with disabilities can do the same things, if not more, that a person without disabilities can do. I realized that I need to treat people with disabilities just like any other person, like an equal. People shouldn’t be ostracized for something that they cannot control. Everyone should treat disabled individuals with respect, dignity, and concern. This is why from now on I will not shy away from a disabled person I will welcome them with open arms because they are no different than
I realize that I didn't get the real in-depth experience that was envisioned for this assignment but I did find what I saw really interesting. I know that just four short years ago they didn't have the buddy program at that school. And they still have nothing at my old Catholic high school. After learning more about the benefits of inclusion during the semester, it was encouraging to see that those benefits were being experienced by students from my hometown, if not my alma-mater. I wonder how my knowledge and perceptions of the handicapped would be different if there had been programs like that when I was in high school. At least I can rest assure that future students at SHS will not go through school as ignorant about handicapped students as I did.