Case Report: Baseball Buddies

I bet you’ve seen at least one before. You know, those articles on the news about someone with autism, doing something amazing that any typical person would never envision them doing. Getting elected homecoming king, being on a cheerleading team, or carrying out an act of kindness that even non-autistic people wouldn’t ever consider are just some of the things that I’ve seen. Though these are spectacular self-esteem lifters for these individuals, warm and fuzzy stories for the public and excellent publicity for wherever they occur, many often forget that autism is a spectrum condition, and functioning levels vary, from wheelchair bound individuals to those in society whose names everyone recognizes.

With the help of teachers and my efforts, I have been successful and was even a recipient of an academic achievement award for students with a 3.6 GPA or higher. It is not always easy learning the materials, studying and placing my thoughts onto paper, yet I will continue to advocate for myself in any circumstance necessary. Despite having learning challenges in the classroom, it does not limit my activities outside of the classroom. I love to volunteer! One of my favorite activities includes being a volunteer buddy for the Miracle League of the Fox Valley. The Miracle League is a baseball organization for children and adolescents with physical and/or cognitive challenges. My role of a buddy is to assist my fellow buddy in any needs she may need, protect her from possible injuries and make sure she is having fun! I love having the opportunity of being a buddy, it has formed a forever lasting companionship and provided smiles that touch us all! Addition to the Miracle League, I’m a member of National Honor Society in which I volunteer in several community organizations to help better the community. I was honored to be selected as a Link Crew member. It has been one of my greatest opportunities to advocate for my peers with disabilities. This is a first time that Appleton North Link Crew created a program for students with physical and cognitive challenges to be included in a freshman transition program in

“Let’s play ball!” That’s how every Saturday in the month of November began as each team went to their dugout. Disabled adults and children divided out by age groups, so that the children would not be endangered by heavy hitters. Players that were anxious to begin as it was the first time they experienced a baseball field made out of a rubber surface that prevented injuries. The hot sun beating down against the player’s, but smiles on their faces that made it seem that they forgot about their disabilities. Volunteering for Miracle League as a buddy has made it a memorable experience because of the friendly environment, the appreciation from the players, and the happiness each player exhibits while playing baseball.

There are thousands of children who play sports in the communities on facilities supported by residents through their tax dollars. The Miracle League of El Paso provides disabled children and young adults in our communities who cannot participate in a sport on a conventional field with a place to play baseball. The Miracle League of El Paso removes the obstructions that stop children with disabilities off the baseball field and allows them to experience playing the field. The main obstruction for disabled children starts from the natural grass fields. The Miracle League of El Paso is about building self-esteem, making new friends, and confidence. The Miracle League of El Paso applies a "buddy" system – coupling each

Socially, children with autism have a lot of difficulty with peers as they do not express as much empathy or social involvement as their classmates. Baron-Cohen (2002) refers to children with autism preferring less involved social interaction, saying that “(children)often engage in “parallel play” at the edge of a group rather than joining in cooperative play”

This event happens once a year and takes place at our high school stadium. Special needs kids come from all around my community to compete in events that best suit their physical or intellectual disabilities. It is truly astounding to see a whole community come together to support these kids. At this past year's Olympics I volunteered as a peer buddy and my responsibilities included walking my buddy, Luke, to his different events and making sure he was having a good time. Luke won first place in the ball throw and second place in the 100 meter dash. I loved seeing how happy he was when he was handed his ribbons and I was so fortunate to have been able to spend the day with

In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special

My buddy was Jared and his Mother said he had autism. It was obvious that Jared was a shy and didn’t

To our surprise, the principal came out to the stadium, accompanied by about 25 members of their school’s Project Unify Club (a club that promotes cooperation between special needs students and ‘normal’ students), bearing signs and smiling faces. They all came to the field to cheer him on as he ran the bases one last time. Everyone in the stadium stood and cheered as he charged toward home. It was easily my most gratifying accomplishment, seeing Bailey’s face on that final stretch, and knowing that I had helped him get there by challenging the absurd idea that he meant any less because of his

Dr. Raffael Boccamazzo a psychotherapist uses DnD as a tool to teach children with autism how to interact in a social environment. “Dr. Raffael Boccamazzo, the Clinical Director of Take This, uses D&D to help teens who are struggling to adapt solid social skills learn those tough-to-teach aspects of socialization like appropriate communication, forming friendships, empathy, and other social nuances.” (Boccamazzo, 2016). Dr. Boccamazzo seems to be only one of his type to use DnD as a therapy tool. Dr. Boccamazzo uses DnD to help children with mental disabilities in order for them to adapt to social environments. The future of “gaming therapy” is bright as more and more research is being aimed towards games such as DnD. Something special about DnD is that the players do not play as themselves but as a made up character, because of this many of the children feel much more comfortable in another character’s embodiment. “Kids who struggle to react appropriately in “regular” social situations often feel more at ease when interacting in a roleplaying setting because they are responding to others under the guise of their character rather than themselves.” (Boccamazzo, 2016). Not only do children feel more comfortable in another person’s body, they feel more confident as they are able to believe in their actions. While in real life there are consequences when one

When I was first awoken before 8:00 a.m on a Monday morning in July, it is not hard to imagine how unamused I was. My mom had signed me up to volunteer for two weeks at the Munroe Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Their summer camp for kids with special needs ages three and a half through twenty-one had become my home for the next week. This camp provides an summer camp experience for kids who would not otherwise have one. The campers are divided into groups with staff and volunteers as well. A volunteer at Camp Monroe has a new buddy every day they help their buddy with tasks, offer encouragement, and give simple direction when needed. The activities for the campers include: swimming, cooking, sports, creative

Mile autistic students can be skilled in many subjects and go to college and learn and living. I played with kids who couldn't talk. At the Morgan Center I play with the rise that put stickers on paper and all the kids will be playing with Play-Doh.It was a little challenging to work with the kids At the center because they couldn't talk. In the last day in the Morgan center we played musical

As a result of their target market, Lone Star Play Ball has created a non-competitive slow pitch softball game, accompanied with a volunteer/buddy to ensure the protection of each player. The price that Lone Star has implemented is very inexpensive. Children with special needs require special attention and with that comes expenses. With this in mind, Lone Star has been able to maintain their registration at a reasonably low and affordable cost. The low-cost registration attracts more participants and gives them an advantage against other organizations.

She establishes a positive and motivating tone for children, teens, and adults, persuading them to join a program similar to Rising Stars Buddy Baseball. Healy writes personally for an audience who is interested in bonding with and helping kids with special needs. She makes sure to show the positive and happy feelings that she felt while writing this article to allow the audience to understand the benefits of Buddy Baseball. She does this by describing how inspiring the friendship of two members is. “...The girls’ five-year friendship… is an inspiring example of the meaningful bonds formed in programs like Buddy Baseball, in which young people with special needs are exposed to sports with the help of kids without similar challenges” (para 4). This helps the reader experience the uplifting feelings that Healy brings to the article. This work is significant because in stories such as “Scarlet Ibis,” the disabled child, Doodle, is described as “invalid”, a disappointment, and not being “all there,” whereas nowadays the younger generations have grown to be accepting and inclusive of those with handicaps. (Hurst

In reviewing the required videos and reading on low incidence, there were a large range of how it affected individuals are processed by individuals without disabilities, these videos demonstrates what it is like to try to be normal with a disability. The first video called, Autistic Basketball Player,” presented an enlighten outcome, that people should not assume that individual with disability are not able to contribute to a job or sport. Jason Mcelwain’s a young man with Autism that id given to chase an individual with a disability self-worth is just as valuable as the rest of the team when it come to sport. The second video called, “Breaking Barriers of Autism: The power of Kindness and friendship present how individuals with disabilities are able to leap bounties id one person will acknowledge them. In his lecture he was able to present insight on how lonely it is on another side of the disability spectrum.