It was the first day of second grade and it was time for Harper Clagon to meet her new classmates. Harper’s mom had written Harper’s introduction. Just like last year, she shared that Harper loves to be read to, she loves to dress up and loves to attend plays and concerts. This year, however, her mom added a new hobby: Harper loves to waterski.
Waterskiing is an impressive hobby for any second grader, but even more impressive for Harper. When she was a baby, Harper caught a rare form of bacterial meningitis, which led to a severe brain injury, affecting her mobility, hearing and verbal communication abilities. Since then, Harper has come to Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation for physical therapy, swallow therapy, occupational therapy and aquatic therapy. “She goes to all the t’s,” her mom says. The therapists also focus on giving pediatric rehabilitation patients another kind of therapy: the therapy of fun – of simply being kids.
Enter Adaptive Sports and Adventures Program (ASAP). This program, within Carolinas Rehabilitation, gives kids and adults with physical or cognitive challenges access to sports in ways that accommodate their abilities. When Harper went waterskiing with ASAP – twice – she had about 15 staff members and volunteers surrounding her to make sure she was safe and supported every second so she could focus on having fun.
“They were so attentive to her. I call them Atrium Health angels,” says Harper’s mom. “It was an amazing experience.”
The Importance of Active, Healthy – and Fun – Living
In addition to waterskiing, ASAP offers snow skiing, tennis, rugby and cycling to children and adults. Some of the participants are on competitive teams: Five of the 14 team members in U.S. Adaptive Water Ski National Championships are from the ASAP program. Some participants, like Harper, don’t compete but explore new sports that are adapted to their abilities.
“We like to show that life is different after an injury or with a disability, but life’s not over,” says Jennifer Moore, the ASAP coordinator. “Sports and an active, healthy lifestyle can help improve the social, emotional and psychosocial aspects that people deal with after an injury. ASAP can provide resources and hope that life can go on.”
For people facing physical and cognitive challenges due to an injury, it’s important to focus on what’s possible today and tomorrow, says Dr. Dukjin Im, a pediatric rehabilitation specialist at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital. He says that it can be tempting to focus on regaining the abilities one used to have before an injury, but it’s better to focus on the present moment and moving forward.
“There may be things Harper can’t do, but we focus on things she can do and we celebrate those,” Im says. “Harper is happy because she has the most important thing that a kid needs to be happy: She has a very supportive family that shows her love all of the time. Harper enhances the lives of everyone around her.”
The multidisciplinary pediatric rehabilitation team supports patients and their families beyond therapy appointments. Harper’s physical therapist, Katie Rhodes, recommends adaptive playgrounds in the area and library storytelling programs that fulfill Harper’s love of books. Rhodes also introduced her mom to the ASAP program. Moore joined them for a therapy session and found a sport that would be a good match for Harper’s abilities and personality.
Soon, Harper was off on her first waterskiing adventure. ASAP has an intricate waterskiing system that allowed Harper to enjoy skiing while sitting on a physical therapist’s lap on a special chair ski with outriggers. Harper didn’t have to hold the rope, she was secure at all times, her head remained above water and two safety vessels rode on each side of her with swimmers ready to come to her aide if she needed assistance. The ride went off perfectly, the lake breeze on Harper’s face and mom cheering from the dock.
“I consider Harper’s waterskiing a form of therapy,” her mom says. “It’s connecting with an action, it’s being out in nature, it’s being in the water. It’s about doing something that people typically wouldn’t think that a kid with different abilities can do. These experiences can enhance a child’s quality of life and enhance the way a child thinks about themself.”
ASAP offers access to sports to adults and children across a range of abilities. People with higher spinal cord injuries and who can’t move their body below the head have even been able to enjoy waterskiing with ASAP.
“ASAP makes such a difference with our kids with spinal cord and brain injuries. Very often, we'll see a dramatic change in attitude and hope in kids when they meet with the ASAP team,” Im says. “ASAP shows them the things they’re capable of doing and it opens a world of possibilities to them – that a complete life exists outside of the realm of being able to walk.”
Caring for the Family
When ASAP invites kids to join in sports, they do more than help the child – they support the family, too. Parents of children who are typically developed have a general roadmap for raising kids, based on their own childhoods and the lives of kids they see around them. It can be harder, however, for parents of kids with different abilities who have many more day-to-day responsibilities and who often have no existing roadmap to follow.
“When a child has a severe injury and needs total physical assistance for self-care and mobility, I think it's easy for a parent to get lost in the weeds of providing therapy and meeting basic needs,” Im says. “It can be hard to know where to begin for things like sports and fun activities for these kids and ASAP helps with that.”
After the ASAP waterskiing experience, Harper’s mom seeks even more adventures for Harper to try next. Already, she has plans to take Harper to iFly for indoor skydiving and get her on the ski slopes with ASAP this winter.
“Harper is such a star. She’s always ready to roll,” her mom says. “What ASAP did for me was to raise the bar and to make sure I stay aware and on point with the things that Harper can potentially enjoy and experience. And now my kid is seven, and she’s done things that I haven’t even done yet!”
It makes one wonder: What will Harper’s third-grade introduction include?
Learn more about the Adaptive Sports and Adventures Program.
