When entering high school, every student is encouraged to “get involved.” The immense variety of different sports, clubs and activities can seem overwhelming at first, but it provides everyone with the opportunity to find something they’re interested in–or at least, it’s supposed to. For a long time, though, this was not the case.
Until fairly recently, students with intellectual disabilities (ID) were not allowed to participate in most activities. However, holding these students back from getting involved in activities with their peers, even if it was out of protectiveness, only lead to a sense of isolation and otherness.
Fortunately, with the establishment of the Special Olympics in 1968 and the Unified Sports program in 1989, support for the inclusion of students with ID in sports has grown exponentially. Students with intellectual disabilities deserve to experience the satisfaction of improving with each practice and the exhilaration of finally obtaining victory. Sports alone, though, are just the beginning.
At PLHS, students and teachers have been working hard to bring new activities to more students. Last year, we saw our first Unified musical in “Finding Dory,” and this year was the inaugural Unified cabaret. These activities usually involve a peer and an ID student to pair up, allowing both parties to make relationships they otherwise wouldn’t have. More and more activities are joining the ranks, allowing special education students a variety of choices to express themselves.
Unified activities are not born out of pity or moral grandstanding like some people may believe. Rather, they are the result of a sincere desire to support every student. In fact, Unified Sports benefit students outside of special education programs as well, and not just by supplementing college applications.
They allow students to become more well-rounded individuals, discover new hobbies and interests, and make new friends. Many people who might never have interacted with special education students get the opportunity to meet them and bond over a shared interest.
The essence of inclusion is bringing everyone together. None of this happened at PLHS by accident. There is nothing more unifying than working together to reach a shared goal, and that is why the school’s commitment to expanding the amount of Unified programs offered deserves and demands the highest recognition.
