Occupational therapy (OT) is a healthcare profession that involves the use of assessment, intervention, consultation, and coaching to develop, recover, or maintain meaningful occupations of individuals, groups, or communities. The field of OT consists of health care practitioners trained and educated to support mental health and physical performance. Occupational therapists specialize in teaching, educating, and supporting participation in activities that occupy an individual's time. It is an independent health profession sometimes categorized as an allied health profession and consists of occupational therapists (OTs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs). OTs and OTAs have different roles, with OTs licensed to complete comprehensive occupational therapy evaluations. Both professionals work with people who want to improve their ability to participate in meaningful occupations.
Special education is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual differences, disabilities, and special needs. This involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, and accessible settings. These interventions are designed to help individuals with special needs achieve a higher level of personal self-sufficiency and success in school and in their community, which may not be available if the student were only given access to a typical classroom education.
The neurodiversity paradigm is a framework for understanding human brain function that recognizes the diversity within sensory processing, motor abilities, social comfort, cognition, and focus as neurobiological differences. This diversity falls on a spectrum of neurocognitive differences. The neurodiversity paradigm argues that diversity in neurocognition is part of humanity and that some neurodivergences generally classified as disorders, such as autism, are differences and disabilities that are not necessarily pathological. Neurotypical individuals are those who fall within the average range of functioning and thinking.
Reading for special needs has become an area of interest as the understanding of reading has improved. Teaching children with special needs how to read was not historically pursued under the assumption of the reading readiness model that a reader must learn to read in a hierarchical manner such that one skill must be mastered before learning the next skill. This approach often led to teaching sub-skills of reading in a decontextualized manner, preventing students with special needs from progressing to more advanced literacy lessons and subjecting them to repeated age-inappropriate instruction.
Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) encompasses the communication methods used to supplement or replace speech or writing for those with impairments in the production or comprehension of spoken or written language. AAC is used by those with a wide range of speech and language impairments, including congenital impairments such as cerebral palsy, intellectual impairment and autism, and acquired conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. AAC can be a permanent addition to a person's communication or a temporary aid. Stephen Hawking, probably the best-known user of AAC, had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and communicated through a speech-generating device.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to autism:
Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, especially in "language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living". Developmental disabilities can be detected early on and persist throughout an individual's lifespan. Developmental disability that affects all areas of a child's development is sometimes referred to as global developmental delay.
Amateur baseball is baseball in which the players either are not paid for playing, or receive only a modest stipend or employment arranged by the team's boosters. Amateur baseball is played in the United States by players of all ages, from young children to adults.
Saint Francis School is a Private, Independent, not for profit, college preparatory school with no religious affiliation that has been serving students of the Metro Atlanta area since 1976. Saint Francis School is accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission (GAC), the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It is a member of Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) and the Atlanta Area Association of Independent Schools (AAAIS).
Special Olympics Canada is a national organization founded in 1969 to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence and social skills through sports training and competition.
Below are select minor league players and the rosters of the minor league affiliates of the Texas Rangers:
Below are the rosters of the minor league affiliates of the Atlanta Braves:
Baseball Canada is the national governing body for baseball in Canada. They are members of the Canadian Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
World ParaVolley, formerly the World Organization Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD), is an international organization that is for people with physical disabilities. It is affiliated with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The World Organization Volleyball for Disabled was established in 1981 and was part of the International Sports Organization for Disabled (ISOD). In 1992 the WOVD became its own separate Organization in Barcelona, Spain. The WOVD Headquarters were also established in the Netherlands.
The Pittsburgh Penguin's Foundation is a non-profit organization formed on July 20, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its sponsor was the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Pittsburgh Penguins ownership group. The foundation provides programs focused on preventive wellness, developmental support, and charitable activities. Additionally, it encourages the teaching of life skills and the engagement of youth and families in various activities.
The Babe Ruth League is an international youth baseball and softball league based in Hamilton, New Jersey, US named after George Herman "Babe" Ruth (1895–1948), world famous American professional baseball player from 1914 to 1933. He played beginning at age 19 in his hometown of Baltimore in 1914 at the minor league level of the International League with the legendary Baltimore Orioles, then traded up to the major leagues as first a pitcher to the Boston Red Sox in the American League. Then he went on to his greatest career during the 1920s and 30s as an outfielder / slugger with the previously lack-luster New York Yankees becoming the nicknamed "Sultan of Swat" and transforming them with additional talented players into the feared "Bronx Bombers" for their first of several decades-long dynasties. In his later declining years, he served briefly as player / manager with the old Boston Braves of the competing National League.
STARskaters.org, a US Paralympic Sport Club, was founded by Sugar Land, Texas businessman Jim O'Neill in 2008. The organization is composed of Houston area volunteers, many of whom are hockey players, skating instructors, figure skaters, coaches and officials.
Sports-based youth development or SBYD is a theory and practice model for direct youth service. Grounded in youth development, sports psychology, and youth sports practice, SBYD aims to use the sport experience to contribute to positive youth development. Sports-based youth development is similar to sport for social development.
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) is a not-for-profit children's healthcare system located in the Atlanta area. It is dedicated to caring for infants, children, teens, and young adults age 0–21 throughout Georgia.
YAI, previously known as the Young Adult Institute, is an organization serving people with Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the United States. YAI launched as a pilot program at a small school in Brooklyn, New York, in February 1957. The pilot program was run by co-founders Bert MacLeech and Pearl Maze and served seven people with I/DD. Today, YAI has expanded to a team of over 4,000 employees and supports over 20,000 people in the I/DD community. YAI supports people with Autism, Down syndrome, and Cerebral palsy, among others.
