'Making Kids a Part of Something': An Interview with Daniel Epstein on Unlocking Baseball's Potential for Inclusion of Young People with Learning Disabilities

Learning Disabilities Worldwide, Inc. 14 Nason Street, Maynard, MA 01754. Tel: 978-897-5399; Fax: 978-897-5355; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.ldworldwide.org/educators/ild-educators

Y

9

Special Education Teachers; Athletics; Team Sports; Learning Disabilities; Interaction; Interpersonal Competence; Skill Development; Social Development; Athletes; Children; Adolescents

1949-1212

In this interview, a special educator and sports writer talks about the role that baseball can play in bringing young people with and without learning disabilities together. He exemplifies how a game can provide extensive opportunities for social interactions and establishes why playing baseball is more suitable for teaching social skills to struggling learners than many other hobbies and special interests. In addition, he proposes ways to make the sport more accessible for baseball players with special needs by placing them in positions where they are more involved in the game than in other things around them or by using audio cues. He also addresses exclusion tendencies in present-day baseball and discusses unfavorable developments that are occurring in the sport. In closing, he highlights the importance of role models in baseball for children and adolescents with disabilities, including the significance of athletes with special needs being more outspoken in public about their challenges.

As Provided

2020

EJ1275502