04/02/2025
In this field, community integration is incredibly important. Unfortunately, in small areas, it also comes with its share of difficulty in simply finding meaningful activities for our individuals to participate in. For those that don’t know, community integration is the concept that anything a “regular” person does within the community, a person with an intellectual or physical disability can also do. One of our individuals here at SHS has a special interest in baseball, and has some exceptional talent and skill in it. In the summer months he plays ball in the backyard, at the local fields with his staff, and plays with the Miracle League of Indiana County. In the winter, however, it becomes increasingly difficult to find ways to support his love of the sport. This past winter he was signed up to go to Double Play in Ebensburg to hit a few balls in their batting cages. None of us could possibly have known that this would be the start of a meaningful relationship with the owner Tim Washko who not only welcomed him to their facility, but have included him in far more meaningful ways such as giving him his own double play gear, offering to go watch his Miracle League games this summer, and taking the time to teach him and guide him within their facility. This is the ultimate definition of “integration." He has been welcomed not just as a customer, but as a valuable member of a group of people who come together for the love of baseball. The people at Double Play are kind, accepting, and nurturing and we are incredibly touched at the relationship they have built with our individual.
Double Play Baseball/Softball Training Center
