ERIC Number: EJ1258310
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1949-1212
EISSN: N/A
The Inclusive Power of Baseball: How a Game Can Help People with Learning Disabilities Move Away from the Fringes of Society
Grünke, Matthias; Martis, Shairon
Insights into Learning Disabilities, v17 n1 p87-97 2020
A great share of children, adolescents, and adults with a learning disability (LD) are affected by social exclusion and its harmful effects on mental health. To tackle this challenge, it is important to understand how interactions between different people emerge and develop. One of the leading factors in this context is the existence of mutual interests or hobbies. Following team sports can be seen as a string that connects large parts of society. Watching matches together (whether on-site or in a public viewing venue) can remove barriers between otherwise often disconnected members of different groups of people (such as ones with and without LDs). There are several reasons enjoying baseball games together seems to serve this purpose especially well. These events take a rather long time, with many opportunities in between to interact; they are relatively affordable; they usually take place in a comparatively harmonious atmosphere; and they portray a kind of competition that conveys important life lessons about personal accountability in a corporate context. While individuals with LDs are still young and attend school, teachers can spark an interest in baseball in them through direct leisure education or by weaving baseball examples into their regular lessons. There are good reasons to assume that such efforts contribute to preventing and combating social isolation of individuals with LDs.
Descriptors: Team Sports, Inclusion, Recreational Activities, Leisure Education, Learning Disabilities, Interaction, Social Isolation
Learning Disabilities Worldwide, Inc. 14 Nason Street, Maynard, MA 01754. Tel: 978-897-5399; Fax: 978-897-5355; e-mail: info@ldworldwide.org; Web site: http://www.ldworldwide.org/educators/ild-educators
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A