Soccer and Brain Injury

Concussions have gotten a lot of media coverage in recent years, with the epidemic of the brain injury in the NFL and other contact sports.  Studies indicate that frequent "heading" of a soccer ball may damage children's brains: Heading Ball 'could lead to brain damage.'  However, soccer is an excellent recreational activity, as it helps with cardiovascular fitness, dynamic balance, gross motor development (mostly in younger players), teamwork, following rules, and learning sportsmanship.  If your child plays soccer, I would discourage intentionally heading the ball too frequently and recommend that you discuss this with your child's pediatrician.

PE and Extracurricular Activities for Children with Disabilities

Here's an interesting blog post about Children with Disabilities' Participation in PE and Extracurricular Activities from another pediatric therapy blog.


Some local resources for Special Needs PE and athletic activities are:

• Us Too Center for gymnastics, track, and tap dancing
• Karate For All for karate lessons taught by an Occupational Therapist
• Challenger Little League for baseball
• Shea Center for horseback riding
• Special Olympics Southern California for aquatics, track, basketball, bocce, golf, gymnastics, bowling, floor hockey, soccer, tennis, and volleyball
• The Achievers (Orange County branch of Disabled Sports USA) for skiing
• Casa Colina Outdoor Adventures for camping, fishing, dog sledding, hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, sailing, SCUBA, skiing, water skiing, and white water rafting

If anyone knows of any other programs that offer recreational activities for those with special needs, please add them in the comments.