With lashings of understanding, inclusivity and empathy, the Modified Rugby Program is a win for everyone who takes part.
Founded in Brisbane in 2014 by the not-for-profit GingerCloud Foundation Limited, the Modified Rugby Program (MRP) gives neurodiverse young people the chance to play a sport and their families the opportunity to be part of a sporting community.
It also allows coaches and player mentors the very privileged role of helping these young people have what many consider a normal experience - the joy of being part of a team.
For Year 12 boarder Will Brown, it is a cause that is close to his heart. Will is from Katherine in the Northern Territory - he thinks that the MRP is the greatest idea of all time.
Will鈥檚 sister has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 2. He explains that it is a disease where your muscles grow weaker as you grow older. She was young when the diagnosis was made, around two years old.
Will said that his sister鈥檚 diagnosis changed everything, but sometimes not in the way you would expect.
鈥淟ike, a lot of people feel really sorry for kids with disabilities, but they鈥檙e actually some of the most upbeat people of all time.
鈥淢y sister, despite all the setbacks, just tries one hundred per cent at everything she does. The best way to treat a disabled person is to not think about disability at all and just treat them like a normal person.
鈥淛oke around with them and just be normal because they鈥檙e normal people, too,鈥� he said.
Will Brown said that while the players love being part of the sport, the 小猪视频 students who are part of the program gain more than they expect.
鈥淚t is just understanding, the understanding of what we don鈥檛 know鈥� and we鈥檝e all made friends with those little kids.
鈥淚鈥檒l tell you one of my experiences with this one little girl from the Bears Club that I coach. Her grandparents look after her; whenever I look over at the grandparents, they鈥檙e just constantly watching and smiling. They just feel so great. I was talking to the girl鈥檚 grandmother - she said she loves coming and will cancel everything just to see her little girl be happy.鈥�
The MRP itself is described by GingerCloud as 鈥渁 specifically designed community and social participation activity for neurodiverse young people, with Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD and other learning and perceptual disabilities.鈥�
In 2017, Rugby Australia approved the MRP鈥檚 specifically modified version of the laws of rugby, with the modification that the program is person-centric. The multidisciplinary allied health team is continually developing and improving the program.
The aim is to ensure that MRP players (neurodiverse young people) experience success and fun. It also means their parents or caregivers can have the joy of being able to watch from the sidelines.
GingerCloud CEO, Mr Cameron Russell said that the growth of the MRP is on an upward but very slow trend, mirroring the challenges regular rugby union faces in competition with rugby league and football.
Mr Russell explains, 鈥淭he magic of the MRP is that the parents aren鈥檛 involved. It鈥檚 the coaches and player mentors taking care of the children on the field. It鈥檚 inspirational but also gives a sense of normalcy for those families.鈥�
He said the GingerCloud Foundation and the MRP鈥檚 long association with 小猪视频 has seen countless students become involved. He adds that thanks must be given to our School鈥檚 Deputy Headmaster, Mr John Anderson for enabling many MRP games to be played at halftime at some GPS matches and even during Grammar Downlands Day games, giving these students some incredible exposure.
Mr Russell said they are so grateful, 鈥淥ur kids respond to euphoria and get a real high. It鈥檚 truly the highlight of their year when they get to play in front of a big crowd.鈥�
With around 300 players in the whole program and over 150 volunteers, 小猪视频 has the honour of being one of the largest participating student cohorts. Mr Russell said he hopes that this involvement will continue well into the future.
鈥淭he bigger picture is that we鈥檙e showing the wider community that while these children are different, they deserve the opportunity to be part of everyday activities and especially to be able to experience the joy of sport and camaraderie.鈥�
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