Just last week, adults in our recreation program were spotted outside shooting hoops with neighborhood children and youth. The week before, several young folks were asking to play outdoor bowling with our group. The same several brought along a friend or two the next day as they searched for us inside our center – and, yes, they wanted to stay and join our Skip Bo tournament.

What kind of program is this? It happens to be a community-based recreation program, housed within one of the various City of Rochester community centers around the Rochester. We’ve existed for more than two decades now at the Edgerton Community Center and it is interesting to note the impact of this arrangement.

Imagine these scenarios day after day:

1. A 10 year old who has never met anyone who uses a power wheelchair.
2. An 8 year old who is meeting her first person with ambulatory cerebral palsy.
3. A young person who finds himself playing wheelchair basketball with wheelchair basketball athletes, and being trounced!
4. A 5 year old seeing someone – a lot of someones – who look “different” than himself.

Over the years, I have encouraged many a young person to speak directly to the person they are interested in – to ask how the power wheelchair works, to figure out how the next person is going to shoot hoops or bowl the bowling ball, or work on the computer, or paint with a paintbrush banded around their forehead. And, with this encouragement, most of the young people will do just that. Before you know it, the adult and the child are conversing, exchanging names, pleasantries, information of interest. And soon, they are sharing social times and recreational fun.

We have played many a game together. We have eaten together. We have shared talents with each other. We have planted a garden together. Over the past 8 years, I’ve personally watched as a number of the children and adults have “grown up” together.

The impact is tremendous! Each child who spends the time has an incredible opportunity to meet some amazing people and to see so much more than a “disability.” In fact, some of the comments I have heard are so very fun!

Child One: “Hey dude! Check out this guy! I bet you can’t figure out how he drives that thing (wheelchair)!”
Child Two: “Aw, sure! That’s easy – he’s using his hand.”
Child One: “Nope! He’s using the back of his head on the headrest!”
Child Two: “That’s cool, man! Can you show me? (directed to the wheelchair user)”

And it goes both ways. The adults are learning, too, and benefiting from these relationships with the younger generations. How wonderful to “show off” one’s ability to drive a power wheelchair or to play better hoops from the sitting position than the non-wheelchair using youth who thinks he’s the greatest shot on the court. What teachable moments these are!

Another anecdote from this summer:

Several young folks have joined our group in a rousing game of bowling. The next bowler is one of our participants who uses a manual wheelchair. One of the newer young persons (he had just met us that day) starts to say “Hey, she can’t play…” He stopped short of completing the sentence, though, and looked at the staff person nearby who was watching him with a smile on her face, waiting to see how he proceeded with his thoughts. She gently said, “She can’t do what? Just give her a minute.” The bowler in question moved forward in her manual chair, took aim with the ball, and rolled a strike! (This certainly doesn’t happen all the time, but, boy! What great timing!) The boy, about 11 years old, proceeded to shout “Yea!” and then looked at the staff person, silently acknowledging that he had gotten the point.

Sometimes I hear people placing a higher value on clinically based recreation – to the detriment of community based recreation. While a medical model is very valuable in many settings, I just think there is a boatload of irrefutable evidence showing that community-based recreation provides an incredible opportunity for education, relationship development, and social interactions that only such integrated settings can do. And so, we will continue to grow and stay young together!