the abled disabled
finding a voice for athletes wanting to play the sports they love
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enforce
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The Hoosier State provides opportunities to all athletes throughout high school athletics
Inclusion in Indiana
At 15 schools across Indiana, high school athletes with disabilities are given similar opportunities to play sports as their classmates, but those experiences aren’t available to everyone – yet.
Noblesville High junior Mitch Bonar spends his afternoons on the track, running for the school’s Unified Track and Field team. Unified Sports is a program sponsored by Special Olympics and state high school associations. It pairs students with disabilities with a partner, a student without disabilities.
The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has helped implement the program within the Hoosier state.
“As a parent, it gives me the opportunity to see him excel and feel accepted. I think he motivates the kids that don’t have disabilities. They get inspired by him because if they see Mitch can do it, they can do it,” Kelly Bonar, Mitch’s mother, said. “It’s his family outside of a family. That makes a mom feel good.”
Although Mitch is given the opportunity to participate with his classmates in a sport he loves, not every athlete across the state is granted the same ability.
Mack Deaton, a junior at Brownsburg High School, is one Hoosier athlete that can’t apply his talents at his school.
“Mack would truly enjoy being involved at an athlete level,” Wendy Deaton, Mack’s mother, said. “I believe that this option is not offered because of the pressure by school administrations for teams to succeed and be the best.”
IHSAA officials are working to change the availability of high school sports for athletes like Mack.
“My initial reaction is that our efforts of inclusion have been very successful,” IHSAA Commissioner Bobby Cox said. “That being said, I believe we have only scratched the surface of inclusionary events for the young people of Indiana. Our work will continue to grow and flourish in an evolving attitude of inclusion. Inclusion of students with disabilities will continue to grow with educational events and common awareness.”
Indiana isn’t alone. A report from the United States General Accounting Office in 2010 found that, across the country, “students with disabilities participated in athletics at varying rates, but at consistently lower rates than students without disabilities.”
That prompted the U.S. Department of Education to write a “Dear Colleague” letter to high schools across the country, reminding them of the workings of Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Integration for Unified Success
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 provides a golden nugget for those athletes across the country that want to participate in high school athletics. Section 504 states, “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall, solely by reason of his or her disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity.”
Deemed as the Title IX for athletes with disabilities, Section 504 provides an opportunity for those athletes to rightfully participate in the high school athletes, forbidding organizations from denying those athletes with disabilities the benefits from programs within the state.
Placing athletes with different abilities on the playing field, a team unites in search of success by all.
“Some parents wait their whole lives to see their kids to graduate from college,” Kelly Bonar said. “For us, we’ve reached that milestone by being able to take his love and share it with his peers now. That is what has happened. It has allowed him to shine among his peers, which is like graduation day for a parent.”
This inclusion can provide an opportunity for all athletes to learn from each other during a time in their life when they look to others for growing support and benefits.
“Our experience shows that including students with disabilities has grown appreciation and understanding from our student-athletes and that awareness will serve them well as they matriculate to adulthood. The lesson for those students that are not disabled should be that everyone has the opportunity to be a productive citizen regardless of their individual challenges,” Cox said. “Speaking specifically for the student with disabilities, the experience should provide evidence that life challenges can be met and success attained.”
Getting necessary experience and challenges from athletics already, more than 11,000 disabled athletes are finding opportunities with Special Olympics Indiana (SOI).
As an organization in the corner of athletes with disabilities, SOI has done what it can to provide athletic opportunities to those athletes, which began prior to the “Dear Colleague” letter being sent out.
“Our conversations with the IHSAA started before we were aware of the letter,” said Michael Furnish, president and chief executive officer of Special Olympics Indiana. “The letter created a discussion focus and an opportunity for ‘closet supporters’ to be more public in advocating for changes.”
With an increase in the chance to participate in sports across the state, athletes with disabilities now have a better opportunity than ever to become one with a team of other types of athletes.
Unified Sports allows IHSAA and SOI to team up in order to provide these athletes with the opportunity to compete for a varsity letter, IHSAA trophy and IHSAA state championship ring.
“I suspect many are ready to join ‘any’ team,” Furnish said. “There have been increasing opportunities in schools for kids with disabilities to be included in school activities. The chance to be in sports is just any extension of that.”
Furnish predicts a growth in the inclusion of athletes with disabilities.
“I believe there will be exponential growth as more and more schools try something. It will have an increasing and lasting effect,” he said. “Happily, it looks as though Indiana will be at the forefront of inclusive sports!”
With Unified Sports growing across the country, there are still obstacles that a school can face when trying to start a program for its students, which is something Wendy recognizes.
“I know that programs like this can be difficult and costly to run unless you have many volunteers,” Wendy said. “If schools used these types of programs as opportunities for Key Club or National Honor Society volunteer hours, it could benefit the students two-fold.”
An inevitable growth happening throughout Indiana could help provide this opportunity to schools like Brownsburg, where Mack attends high school, which is why this inclusion can be of utmost importance.
“I feel it is important to allow all qualified students the opportunity to participate in education-based athletics,” Cox said. “I believe the participation of students with disabilities enhances the interscholastic experience for all participants.”
Athletes can influence each other in various ways. With the inclusion of athletes with disabilities, another point of view can be shown, helping high school students define their outlook on life. Furnish believes this integration can be the start of something great.
“Inclusive sports will be a rebirth of joy in sports,” Furnish said. “Less do or die and more sports for the fun of it. It’s a good message for all.”
Special Olympics Indiana provides year-round sport training for children and adults with intellectual disabilities with a network of county programs and area management teams. These programs are responsible for recruiting new athletes, organizing training programs, raising funds and managing volunteers. County programs carry out these responsibilities within the county with respective athletes. Area management teams carry out these responsibilities within the ten geographic regions and their respective athletes, offering Spring Games in May and a bowling tournament in November.
Special Olympics Indiana
"Let me win, but if I cannot win,
let me be brave in the attempt."
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A not-for-profit organization that provides an opportunity for children and adults with intellectual disabilities to compete in more than 20 Olympic-type sports. With more than 11,000 athletes across the state, it is a part of the international network of accredited Special Olympics programs. It uses sports to provide an inclusive atmosphere to show children and adults with intellectual disabilities how to be a Hoosier while playing the sport they love. Special Olympics Indiana is an opportunity to change the world, using sport as the medium.
Story by Anna Wilson
Statistics and information
obtained from organization websites
A voluntary, not-for-profit organization for high schools within the state of Indiana that is accredited by the Indiana Department of Education. It promotes and oversees high school athletics as a part of the secondary education program. The IHSAA sanctions 20 sports, 10 for girls and 10 for boys, with more than 160,000 students.
Indiana High School Athletic Association
"Play On"
Mooresville's Coleson Sharp swings away with Greenwood's Lucas Marko behind the plate during a Mid State Conference matchup at Mooresville High School on April 17, 2014. Photo by Anna Wilson
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Within the IHSAA, health and education welfare of the student-athletes is administered through cooperation with the proper agencies. The organization dictates and decides the qualifications of student-athletes, coaches and officials, as well as establish eligibility, competition and sportsmanship standards.
Partnerships for Future Growth
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