The post Autism Speaks Teams Up with Major League Baseball first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>By Stacy M. Sadove, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP As school is closing and summer is starting, many parents are looking to find ways to integrate their children in community events and activities for summer. Americans consider baseball a national pastime. Children of all ages look forward to attending a ball game with friends and family to root on their favorite team. Yet for children with…
The post Autism Speaks Teams Up with Major League Baseball first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>By Stacy M. Sadove, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP As school is closing and summer is starting, many parents are looking to find ways to integrate their children in community events and activities for summer. Americans consider baseball a national pastime. Children of all ages look forward to attending a ball game with friends and family to root on their favorite team. Yet for children with…
By Stacy M. Sadove, Esq., Littman Krooks LLP
As school is closing and summer is starting, many parents are looking to find ways to integrate their children in community events and activities for summer. Americans consider baseball a national pastime. Children of all ages look forward to attending a ball game with friends and family to root on their favorite team. Yet for children with disabilities, and particularly for children on the spectrum, attendinga baseball game may be too overwhelming.
Autism Speaks and Major League Baseball have teamed up for their Annual event in recognition of Autism Awareness Month to bring a unique experience to fans on the spectrum. Both the Mets and Yankees are participating in this event. The Mets held their game on May 1, 2016, and the Yankees game is set for August 6, 2016.
The games specifically targets fans with Autism, and seek to provide a friendly environment for individuals and their families affected by Autism. Individuals with Autism often have difficulty integrating in community events. Loud noises and over-stimulating environments often prevent individuals on the spectrum from being able to attend events such as a baseball game.
By providing certain accommodations such as dimmed lighting, muted announcements and certain deemed quiet zones with sensory friendly environments, individuals on the spectrum can enjoy the ball park in a whole new way. A part of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to Autism Speaks. This exciting event is just one of many events scheduled in our area to promote further awareness for Autism. It is encouraging to see so many people educating and reaching out to provide support for Autism awareness.
Littman Krooks applauds and encourages Autism outreach activities. I look forward to this and many more events in our community that our clients can share with children on the spectrum. Let’s play ball.
Learn more about our special needs planning and special education advocacy services at www.littmankrooks.com or www.specialneedsnewyork.com.
Was this article of interest to you? If so, please LIKE our Facebook Page by clicking here or sign up for our monthly newsletter.
I recently saw a study that is near and dear to my heart on two subjects — baseball and concussions.
One of the biggest frustrations of people with head injuries is that even though they look normal to their friends and family members, something is off. Now, a new study involving professional baseball players provides a strong example of how people are impaired even though they look (and even feel) normal.
The study, reported in the American Journal of Sports Medicine and summarized in the New York Times, followed Major League Baseball position players (non-pitchers) who returned to action following concussions. What the researchers found was stunning. These batters, even though they themselves felt they were no longer impaired, performed significantly worse in the weeks following their return to play.
The study looked at 66 players over several years who had concussions. In the two weeks before their concussions, they players had an average batting average of .249, an on-base percentage of .315, and a slugging percentage of .393. For the two weeks after their return from the injury, the batting average had dropped to .227, on-base percentage had fallen to .287, and slugging percentage had fallen to .347.
Despite these players feeling that they were fine and back to normal, their batting averages and on-base percentages had each fallen by almost 9%, and their slugging percentages had fallen by almost 12%.
In order to rule out the idea that the drop off was just from the players being away from the game, the researchers also studied players who had taken a similar amount of time off for bereavement or paternity leave. For those players, the batting averages, on-base average, and slugging percentages all INCREASED after their breaks.
This study is strong evidence for two things:
1) even though victims of brain injuries may appear normal to the outside world, they may still be impaired; and
2) that victims of concussions and head injuries are likely impaired in all types of ways for far longer than even the injured persons suspect.
The post New Baseball Study Shows Even When Brain Injured People Appear “Normal”, They’re Not first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.]]>