Paralympians and parents calling for more support at grassroots level for young athletes with disabilities

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australia's Paralympic team has inspired the nation but the number of our next generation of athletes could be a lot smaller. Children with disabilities are facing barriers to both access and staying in sport. Their parents and other Paralympians are calling for more support at the grassroots level.

Transcript

00:00Wheelchair basketball is all 12-year-old Talo can talk about.

00:12I think just a part of the competitiveness and like being in, like competing for something.

00:20It's really fun.

00:21But around 50% of children with disabilities will drop out of school sport before the age of 11.

00:28There we go.

00:29I think very sad that that's the statistic.

00:32The question I would like to ask is, you know, how many kids don't have access to sport?

00:37We as a community are so focused on sport and that means including everyone.

00:43With one in five people living with disability in Australia,

00:47an estimated 24% of them participate in sport at least once a week,

00:53compared to 41% of non-disabled Australians.

00:57Around 13% of school-aged children live with disability

01:02and face several barriers to participating in sport, including travel, time and money.

01:08It's not just club fees parents have to pay for.

01:11Wheelchair basketball and track chairs can cost anywhere between $5,000 to $15,000.

01:19Beautiful serve there.

01:20Feelings of anxiety around participation is also an issue,

01:25with many children not feeling welcome in sport.

01:29For me as a child I wasn't quite aware of how different I was because of my disability.

01:33It wasn't until I started high school that I became quite self-conscious

01:37and aware of how my disability presents.

01:39When I go off like this...

01:42Increased funding, more training for coaches and elevating role models could change the landscape.

01:48A good organisation to be able to look at Paralympic sports,

01:51to try and find a way, especially able-bodied organisations,

01:55trying to find a way to actually include kids and also adults with disabilities to play sport is important.

02:02I love my sport, I love the opportunities it's given me,

02:04the people I've met, the places I've travelled to

02:07and it's just something so simple as having the opportunities there.

02:11And for many parents, the benefits of sport are important,

02:15including confidence, self-belief, friendship and teamwork.

02:21For Tello it's been so great for him to be around other kids with disabilities,

02:25not feeling like he's different from anyone else

02:28and just normalising the fact that there's kids with disabilities

02:33and they can play sports too and it's great.

02:36When more people join the sport, it makes the sport brighter and drive more.

02:42Sport for everyone.

02:45Elizabeth Wright, ABC News.

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