Weber Elementary sports camp gets kids playing

IOWA CITY - Gavin Brown faces Lauren Clapp, a Velcro paddle in his right hand.

“Do it the highest as you can!” he shouts.

Lauren, a sophomore at Regina High School, tosses a ball high in the air. Gavin holds the paddle out, laughing when the ball sticks to it.

“My turn,” the 8-year-old cries.

Swinging his arm, Gavin lets go. The ball flies backward instead of forward. Both Gavin and Lauren laugh.

It's a Wednesday afternoon at Weber Elementary School, which means one thing for 16 Weber students and several high school and college-aged volunteers: Weber Dolphins Sports Camp.

The after-school activity is a hands-on program dedicated to teaching students the basics of four common sports: baseball, basketball, track and field, and soccer. The group meets for an hour every Wednesday, rotating through several stations designed to teach the basic skills of each sport. What sets this program apart from other sports camps, however, are the kids.

All participants are Weber students, but four, including Gavin, have an autism spectrum disorder. The sports camp is their opportunity to participate in a physical activity at their level, without pressure.

The program was created by Nolan Burns, 18. The idea came after playing catch with his 10-year-old brother, Peyton, who has ASD.

“He told me he wanted to play sports but couldn't because of his autism spectrum disorder,” Nolan, a senior at Regina, said.

Overcoming challenges

Regular physical exercise helps promote physical and mental health, but for those with ASD, team sports come with more challenges than benefits. Youth coaches aren't always trained to work with children on the spectrum. Likewise, teammates don't always know how to react to a child who may exhibit stereotypical behaviors of a child with autism, such as flapping his arms when excited or frustrated.

Nolan read an article about unified sports - the combination of an equal number of individuals with and without intellectual disabilities on the same sports team for training and competition - and decided to start a similar program for Peyton and his friends at Weber.

Working with Weber's principal, Chris Gibson, and the director of the school's after-school program, Tosh Troutman, as well as Ann Griffin at Grant Wood AEA and Elizabeth Delsandro, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders at the University of Iowa, Nolan was able to launch a pilot program at Weber this spring - and with great success, according to participants and helpers.

“The students have made a lot of positive social relationships,” said Sarah Herring, a teacher in Weber's modified classroom.

“For some of the kids, this is their first time participating in a group sport of any kind, and we can see a difference in how they're interacting with others because of it,” said Sarah McCurdy, also a teacher in Weber's modified classroom.

Students with ADS have shown a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of belonging. Herring said many are using their newfound athletic knowledge to interact with general education students during recess. Likewise, general education students are seeing their classmates in a new way.

Learning differently

“They may look like they need a lot of help, but they don't,” said fourth-grader Rylee Goodfellow, 10. “They're just like us. They just learn a different way.”

Because those with ASD tend to learn better visually, each camp begins with an instructional video demonstrating the station the students will visit that afternoon. This also reduces anxiety among the four students, as they know exactly what to expect once they enter the gym or go outside.

The large group is then divided into four small group containing three general education students and one ASD student, plus several older volunteers. The group spends only a few minutes at each station, giving students enough time to learn and practice new sports skills while keeping things entertaining.

“We're not competitive at all,” Nolan said. “We really focus on the social aspect of sports.”

Having fun is also part of each session, along with learning sports skills and emphasizing the importance of physical exercise.

It seems to be working, as it is difficult to tell the general education students from the modified education students once camp begins.

“There are four kids on the autism spectrum here. and just to see their level of engagement is fantastic,” Delsandro said at a recent sports camp session. “They have more confidence, they're engaging with their peers and they're improving their motor skills. It's a great program.”

“This has really been a community effort,” said Lisa Burns, Nolan and Peyton's mother. “Nolan had the idea, and I'm so grateful to everyone who stepped in and stepped up to make it happen.”

The program will wrap up its first season at the end of the month, but Herring and McCurdy have already agreed to keep it going next year.

“It's fabulous, because so many of our kids (with) the autism spectrum disorder don't have the opportunity to participate in sports,” said Marie Giel, whose 9-year-old son, Tommy, has ASD. “This gives them the opportunity to socialize and learn those skills. (Tommy) gets really excited about sports camp.”