How to Get Sports Equipment for Special Needs Teens

Special needs teens like to play sports as much as those without handicaps. The right kind of exercise can improve balance, coordination and the impaired sense of body space and position that limits some children's movement. But to get equipment that is suited to special needs teens, parents and coaches may have to put in extra time and money.

Instructions

Research Special Needs Sports Gear

1. List the sports for which you would like to find equipment for special needs teens. The more specific you are the more fruitful your search will be.

2. Look for special needs bicycles and tricycles. Specially designed features include adjustable full-support seats with back and armrests, various handlebar shapes that position the body correctly and side-by-side two-person models for children, teens and adults. Add accessories to stabilize feet and hips.

3. Get swimming equipment for individual teens or teams such as protection for hearing aids or ear tubes, head floats, adjustable float jacket, swim diapers or specialized swimsuits and support rafts.

4. Encourage teens in individual fitness with squeeze balls (or the new squeeze putty), an adjustable soft balance beam or balance board, or wheelchair adapted resistance equipment.

5. Equip special needs teams with basketballs imprinted with the proper hand positions, foam-coated baseballs, support/release belts for football players or a wheelchair soccer set.

Buy Special Needs Sports Equipment from Different Sources

1. Write down the prices of the equipment you think your special needs teens can use, even those that seem too high for your budget.

2. Check with your child's therapist, teacher or sports coach to find out what equipment the school or center might be willing to sponsor. Explain the features and benefits you have learned about in your research and how they can be used.

3. Investigate charitable resources for groups of special needs teens, such as the government, churches and benevolent foundations. Local professional sports teams may also contribute.

4. Pool resources with other parents or institutions and work out ways to share the equipment.

Tips & Warnings

• Parents and teachers of handicapped children know better than anyone what adaptations their young people need. Use your knowledge and ingenuity to redesign standard equipment so that it fits specific needs.

• Before you get a particular item, ask yourself exactly what use it will be, how it will improve the child's condition and how often or how long you will use it. Don't pay large amounts of money for something you are going to end up hanging clothes on.