Post #2 Assignment Case Study (Week 1)

* This is not based on a true story but on a constructed information assignment.*

Assignment Case Study.

 

When I was 6 years old, my mother had signed me up for T-Ball for ages 6 to 8. By far, I was not the best player in baseball, as I was running the wrong way or not hitting the ball hard enough to the outfield. My team was unhappy with me, and my coach laughed at me as I had made mistakes that I could have fixed if I had been taught better about what to do. Unfortunately, while I was doing this unintentionally, I was not invited to play the big home game against the visitors’ team from Sylvan Lake. I never really understood why until I reached adulthood and found out from my mother. She had told me that due to my inability to fully put myself into T-ball, the coach approached her to keep me home, and her excuse was that the coach said he was sick, so the game was cancelled. This happened in 1996. Since then, a lot of things have changed. When she told me this, I absolutely felt that no coach should have left out the ones who need the extra support to learn baseball and play it. Finding this out hurt me and made me so angry because this has ruined my love for baseball growing up. This was not the only recreational activity I was rejected from; it had included ballet as well, as I was not what you call “perfect enough.” People are excluded for the wrong reasons, and that may be due to similar circumstances in the above reflection in my situation, as well as in Gavin's case study. Quick judgment and a lack of support make it easy for coaches or people to exclude rather than include each other. People are scared of what they do not know and how to manage situations that are different from their own. In Gavin's case, this was intentional as the registrant took one look and automatically declined and told him to join somewhere else. Yes, there are teams for the Special Olympics, but if his friend is there, it is more convenient for Gavin. Even though he has autism, they do have the ability to play sports with support. The registrant in the case study was rude and was very malicious with the way she carried herself and the way she spoke. I would change the way the situation concluded, and that would be registering Gavin and giving him the chance to play baseball with his friend. If he needed extra support, I would have gotten another volunteer coach to help him train. Every child deserves to be included and not excluded. The world would be a happier place if we all gave the chance to be inclusive and provide the extra support if needed for any and all situations.

I have attached a link to Inclusion Alberta, where I live. They help those with disabilities to be included in programming and activities. https://inclusionalberta.org/