Nickel City Baseball is featuring a weekly baseball skills clinic specific to children with autism and / or Aspergers, ages 6 to 18 years. Children will participate in highly structured, front-loaded activities that focus on improving communication, cognitive skills, gross and fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and social performance-all while learning about baseball and having fun.
Clinics are hands-on, and provided in manageable "chunks" so as not to overwhelm. Each skill is broken into a step-by-step process using appropriate language and a reward-based system to focus attention. Each clinic is provided by patient instructors, and the instructor to child ratio is approximately1:5.
Clinics are broken into five-activity-specific-stations, using step-by-step visual demonstrations of the skills being taught. Between each skills station is a "decompression" station that features an alternate activity, allowing for a short break prior to moving onto the next exercise. Each station is approximately five minutes in length to encourage focus and prevent overloading.
Photo: Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
