Students from Albert G. Prodell Middle School in Shoreham recently learned an inspiring lesson during a visit with athletes from the Bionic Project. Founded in 2018 by amputee Will Borden, the goal of the program is to create a more inclusive world for everyone. dismantle disability bias, build empathy, and foster connection through education, story and sport.
Focused on the theme “we are all connected; community is essential,” the full-day program began with an assembly on topics such as inclusive behavior and language and media narratives around disabilities and assistive technology.
The day continued with adaptive sports clinics led by four instructors, two of whom are elite athletes with physical disabilities. The athletes demonstrated to the students in the Shoreham-Wading River School District how to use crutches during an adaptive soccer clinic.
Dana Rogers, executive director of the Bionic Project based in Cambridge, Mass., explained that the goal of the program is to create connections with people of all types of ability while being coached by professionals.
“The students experience it [the disability] in their bodies and learn a new sport with different equipment and skills,” Rogers said in a statement. “We have hopefully expanded the notion of what a disability is and what an athlete looks like.”