As a current college athlete, as well as a future educator, it pains me to see the constant lack of inclusivity and options in school sports for special education kids, at the elementary level. Special education students not getting the proper support, has been a consistent issue for many years. Despite progress inside the classrooms dealing with this issue, the social aspect is still where the inclusivity lacks. This topic requires many solutions, but it is often overlooked, and left out of the conversation. Social development is key, and every child deserves the opportunity to have the options to have these social outlets to express themselves. 

     For me personally, sports has always been a social outlet. It has been a space and time that I don’t have to stress, I can just forget everything for a few hours and have fun. It has been an outlet for me to meet new people, and even some of my lifelong friends. I know specifically for my high school, there was only one option of sports that included special education students, and it was basketball. No other sports were offered, and it was only at the high school level, nothing earlier in elementary or middle school. So how is that fair? Why aren’t these kids getting the same options and access to sports as a social outlet that the rest of us are given and have? School sports is something that should be open for all. Too many times special education kids are overlooked and not even brought into the conversation of sports. “Students with disabilities are still put in so-called manager roles or aren’t taken seriously when they express an interest in interscholastic sports” (YouthToday). In so many interviews and conversations with parents of special education students, there is always the same common theme, that the options have not even been presented. “Over a quarter of young disabled people had not taken part frequently, i.e. at least 10 times, in any sports, either in or out of school, in the last year. This compares to 6% of the overall population of young people” (College Sports Scholarships). Research between both students with disabilities and those without is heartbreaking.  “Physical activity levels are 4.5 times lower for youth with a disability. 1.5 million students in public and secondary schools with a physical impairment are excluded from having access to participate in athletic competitions.” (NCHPAD). The lack of options and inclusivity in physical activity, especially sports is dramatic and it is an issue. “The recent guidelines are in response to an earlier report indicating that students with disabilities were involved in extracurricular athletics as much as 56 percent less often than others” (SNA).

     There are so many reasons inclusion in sports is vital for special education kids. Options and inclusivity in sports for children with special needs are essential for their physical, social, and emotional development. As well as is it just the right thing to do. This issue cannot be left out of the conversation. We are doing an injustice to these students and it must be stopped. It shouldn’t be a surprise that special education kids deserve the same options and inclusivity when it comes to school sports. So what now? Just like I said before, as so many improvements have been made inside the classroom, the emphasis should now be on the sports aspect of schools. A great start is including sports in students IEP’s and also having more advice from physical education teachers, or specialists. Making sports a requirement involved in an IEP, at least gives kids the options to this aspect, and for them to have the choice to see if they enjoy different sports. To enhance options and inclusion in elementary school sports for special education students, two easy steps can be taken, providing training for staff, and modifying facilities and equipment, which will both have endless impacts.These are easy changes that can be made, and the outcomes could be endless. Schools should be adding more options of different sports such as; lacrosse, tennis, basketball, soccer etc at each school. We already have coaches for these, so now if we just get some extra assistance from special education professionals, the options could be endless. This is a problem for all of us to take part in because these are our younger generations of special education students that we are failing. We are calling on the Department of Education as well as collaboration from School Athletic Departments, to work together to create more options to be available for special education students. As a future educator as well as a current college athlete, I know all the benefits and greatness that comes out of school sports, and I cannot just sit by and let this continue to be an issue. “Sports aren’t for everyone. But they should be available to all” (SNA).