Progress on the horizon for adaptive sports

  • By Angela Workman
  • May 20, 2013
  • 385
                        
Summary: On Jan. 25, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released a document containing additional guidance for school districts. This guidance clarifies how schools should include students who have physical disabilities. Lisa Followay, executive director of the Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio (ASPO), contributed to the release of this guidance. Any parent who has a child with a physical disability can testify to the challenges. Medical, academic and socialization hurdles often characterize these families. The unique circumstances place parents on the front lines, fighting battles for equality and inclusion. Lisa Followay, executive director of the Adaptive Sports Program of Ohio (ASPO), knows a lot about these fights. Followay embodies the ultimate form of an advocate for her 16-year-old son, Casey Followay. Casey was born with spina bifida, a condition that left him paralyzed. From that point on, she heard a lot of negative messages. The focus was on what her son couldn’t do and what he couldn’t participate in, not what he was capable of achieving. Luckily for Casey, his mother saw no limits or boundaries—she only saw potential. Now, 16 years later, there is significant progress in the world of adaptive sports. On Jan. 25, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released specific guidance for school districts. The guidance outlines what vague phrases like “meaningful participation” and “equal opportunity” really mean for students with disabilities. “What they said is that school districts can’t act on stereotypes. They have to assess the individual, the potential athlete on an individual basis. That means if they get a call from an athlete who’s in a wheelchair, that they can’t make an assumption on what that person is capable of. They have to assess them on an individual basis,” Lisa Followay explained. Additionally, the guide delineates that schools mainstream students as possible. Students with physical disabilities can often still partake in school sports, but with adaptations as necessary. “The Department of Education, in that guidance, was encouraging school districts to work with community organizations to help make these opportunities possible. We’d like to be a resource to the state. Obviously we know adaptive sports very well. We want to try to help make things happen here,” Followay said. ASPO is a program that offers athletic opportunities to people with physical disabilities. Inspired by her son, Lisa Followay developed the program so that he would have a chance to compete in sports. “ASPO has been working with other wheelchair racers across the state, equipping them with racing chairs, which are $3,000 each, and providing them with training so that they can join their school track teams. We have 24 athletes of different ages involved in our track program, at least 11 of them will participate at the high school state track meet this summer,” Followay continued. Another piece of the guide states that if a student requires special services throughout the day or during an extracurricular activity, it must be provided. Also, schools can offer parallel programs when inclusion is not possible. For instance, since a student in a wheelchair would alter the way football is played, the school could offer a district or region wide wheelchair football team as an alternative. Followay discussed the funds required for parallel programs as well. She said she knows finances are strained for many schools, but parallel programs in Georgia have been found to cost around $10,000-$25,000 per year. “It’s the mindset of stop seeing what they’re not capable of and start looking at the opportunities that they can participate. And don’t put up barriers. Bring them down,” Followay said. The path of advocacy has been laced with tribulation for Lisa Followay. When Casey Followay's participation on the track team was initially denied and then permitted with restrictions, his mother filed a civil rights violation, which ultimately contributed to the release of the guidance from the Department of Education. “I’m not a water boy, a photographer, or a statistician, I’m an athlete and I want to represent my school,” Casey Followay said in 2009. Thanks to his mother’s drive and determination, the future for Casey and other athletes with disabilities looks a lot less turbulent.


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