Sports can be a challenge to anyone, especially those who are not as athletic or need assistance. When I was in school, I was always the last one picked for a team. I couldn’t focus on the game, and most of the time, I would be just playing in the grass or spinning in circles. As an adult, I found out I was neurodivergent, and that explained a few things. What sports do not have, however, are teams that are specific to neurodivergents. A team where you wouldn’t think they were bad at the sport.
You see street sports with kids or adults in wheelchairs wheeling around and playing basketball, or a soccer team that has a few kids using crutches. This needs to be more encouraged, and I think if we had teams that were either just neurodivergent or that included them in teams of neurotypicals in general.
When it comes to the stands, though, that is a different story. For me and others with autism or neurodivergency, we are not comfortable within a huge crowd or loud fans screaming and cheering. I think that if it’s just a team of neurodivergents or even ones that include them, there should be something accessible, such as earplugs or something similar, to help them concentrate on the game rather than the noise that surrounds them.
For neurodivergent children, sports should be enjoyable, and there needs to be ways for them to work with children in wheelchairs, or on crutches, or whatever, and they should also be cheered and encouraged to play their hardest but also have fun and enjoy themselves. They should never feel the pressure of winning or it could cause a meltdown or worse. Neurodivergents of all ages needs to be normalized in sports.
I think parents would feel alot better knowing their child, or other family member is feeling included in sports whether they have the basket lower if they are in a wheelchair or more time to hold a ball when they are in crutches, the world would be a better place if they are included.
