Sports for children with disabilities
Sports can play a vital role in promoting children’s physical and mental development. The fun and joy of movement they experience when playing sports lasts a lifetime.
Sports can play a vital role in promoting children’s physical and mental development. The fun and joy of movement they experience when playing sports lasts a lifetime.
It’s imperative for children to engage in physical activity from an early age. And when they participate in sports with their peers, it’s not only fun but also boosts their sense of belonging and helps them grow more confident. But sports even have a positive effect on the development of less outgoing children who prefer to play alone. When children practice their motor skills, whether through a team or an individual sport, it benefits their physical and mental development in equal measure. As such, parents should reconsider before trying to protect their child from exertion just because they have a disability. Parents are encouraged to discuss the advantages and disadvantages with specialist doctors and therapists.
What are the child’s abilities? Which sport do they enjoy? Which clubs or groups organize suitable opportunities for physical activities? Sports scientists say that children are best able to learn and train motor skills before they reach age 12. But even after that, it’s not too late to develop a lifelong joy of movement.
Help your child find a suitable sports program in a sports club and see whether they can receive special help at school to train their motor skills and benefit their mental development.
Schools can offer a world of sports for children with disabilities
Movement, games, and sports should be an everyday part of school life for children and adolescents with disabilities. But in order to help children develop on all levels, individually and as part of a group, teachers will need to take different factors into account, depending on the respective disability. Schools should have special sports equipment and facilities that are accessible to those with disabilities. Parents – perhaps with the support of their local sports club – can explain to the school just how important exercise, games, and sports are for children’s personal development. Children with disabilities should not only be able to join in with normal physical education lessons but also participate in school sports days, competitions, and events. If this isn’t the case, parents should contact their local sports association and school authorities and remind them how important it is for the school to create an inclusive environment.
Sports clubs for children with disabilities
If your child has a disability, you can contact your local sports clubs to find opportunities for your child to engage in a sport outside of school hours at a location near you. Many sports clubs already offer programmes and events where children with and without disabilities can train and play together. This is because inclusion is becoming an increasingly important issue, including in clubs. Even if your local sports club does not have a sports programme that is explicitly inclusive, you could still talk to the coach or trainer and ask about integrating children with disabilities.
Suitable treatment for children and adolescents with disabilities
We offer a large selection of top-quality devices with the goal of providing children with disabilities with the best possible treatment for their respective level of development. Find out more about our devices designed for children. They promote mobility and motor skills, for example, by helping children to adopt a correct and more stable posture, stand at an early age, and walk with a physiological gait. Your child will gain new freedom of movement and grow more independent in their everyday life and free time while benefiting from a high level of safety.
Children who are receiving treatment with a prosthesis but want to train more intensively may also benefit from our special combinations of sports prostheses. Consisting of a sports knee joint for children and a dynamic prosthetic sports foot, the Runner junior, they open up new prospects for a future in sports for very active children in particular.
Sports products
Whether you’re a newcomer, amateur or Paralympic gold medal winner – our Sportsline products aim to make you faster, happier and more agile.
