The adaptability of sport providers was also accompanied by their creativity. Together, mindful adaptations along with their creativity afforded sport providers the chance to provide individualized sport opportunities for children with ASD in their programs. Developing creative responses and the ability to think outside the box were necessary in providing sport to children with ASD. At various points in the interviews, sport providers shared their experiences
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experimenting with creativity. Thalia described one boy with ASD who required a visual demonstration, as a reminder to keep the stick in his hand:
He would throw his stick. So that was a challenge. So again, we coaches and myself kind of put our heads together and so we just created a little visual. I took a picture of him holding his stick on my phone. And every time he went to the throw we’d say you need to hold the stick. You need to hold the stick. You know so he’s gotten better.
Thalia’s use of a picture to help prevent this boy from throwing his stick is what Sherlock- Shangraw (2013) considers “multiple means of action and expression” (p. 43). For this boy on the spectrum, it may be that he is a visual learner, and thus, a visual demonstration is
strategically used to help him grasp what to do with his hockey stick. In general, “visual strategies have a strong evidence base for supporting [children] with ASD in both research and practice” (Maich & Hall, 2016, p. 200). Sherlock-Shangraw also describes “multiple means of engagement” (2013, p. 44). In sport, this is how participants become interested in the subject matter (Sherlock-Shangraw, 2013). The use of imaginative stories is one example of this, and was described by Jesse:
We don’t just tell a child [that] you’re gonna kick a ball and score a goal. We’ll say we’re gonna blast a rocket into outerspace. Or if you’re practicing stick handling and this is something that makes Sportville very effective for children with additional needs,
Asperger’s, and autism. We’re not getting them to stick handle a puck to score a goal. It’s ‘Dora called me last night. And she’s really sad and she needs our help cleaning up her room. So we’re gonna put pylons down. Here’s all of Dora’s toys. We’re gonna use our hockey sticks today and we’re gonna push Dora’s toys back to her toy box,’ which is the hockey net on the other end. So the kids are like sweet, let’s do it.
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In this example, Jesse incorporates the children’s interests into instruction delivery in order to help keep the children engaged in sport.
Similar to imaginative stories, sport providers also engaged in made-up stories. Other forms of creativity were in roleplaying and acting out make-believe scenarios. An example included creating opportunities when passing the ball to other teammates:
We would have to create opportunities for that child. ‘Kids, before we score a goal we have to pass to our friends two times.’ And so if that happens we say ‘Oh look! Let’s say this child over here, Bob, oh Bob’s open, can you pass the ball to Bob?’ (Peter)
In another example:
[Our coaches] say you know sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Everyone put two thumbs and say I did my best. And now the kids get to say that. Or they get to say maybe next time. Or just stay cool. You know you actually give them a a tool to be successful in the actual moment. …our coaches have this amazing ability. …We’ll race the kids. And the kids will beat us. And our coach acts out sadness. Oh, these are my fast shoes! And I didn’t win? …everyone take two thumbs point it at Coach Jesse and say good try Coach Jesse. And the kids will say uh good try Coach Jesse. They’ll look at you kinda weird. And you’ll say aw thanks, that makes me feel so much better. And so the kids get a chance to actually see what that impact is because the coach is roleplaying this moment for them. (Jesse)
Jesse elaborates on the creative ability of sport providers to make up and re-enact various scenarios - that are normally encountered - in sport. The excerpt also points to the importance that sport providers may put on learning about winning versus losing, in that make-believe situations must be implemented to teach it. Additionally, there was also creativity in how sport
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providers used given spaces. Being creative with the space and its contents was described by Liam: “So let’s say we’re doing dribbling. We’re dribbling through a jungle and the chairs are gonna be elephants and the tables are gonna be giant trees and you gotta stay away from them.” In all examples, creativity is seen as starting with the attitude of sport providers. From the interviews, it becomes apparent that creativity is a game changer. There is a strong will to make adaptations and be creative, in order to provide sport for children with ASD. I recognize that some of these strategies and creative solutions would be used with ‘typically developing’ children also. Nevertheless, the types of ‘normal’ or ‘acceptable’ behaviours that are being fostered through their creativity include behaving, listening, and recognizing how to respond in ‘typical’ societal interactions. Thus, while sport providers were being adaptive and creative, still, they are doing this in relation to constructions of ‘normal’ and ‘different.’