Autism and the GAA: ‘You want your child to have same experiences as every other child’

GAA clubs and county boards have made huge strides in opening their doors to welcome children with autism

Wexford GAA developed the first Cúl Camp for autistic children in 2019. More clubs and counties are now attempting to replicate the success of the project. Picture: PJ Howlin

Almost four years ago, Clonakilty GAA club invited Dr Susan Crawford from UCC to give members a talk on autism and sport.

Clare-based Crawford has been a major advocate of physical activity for those with autism syndrome disorder (ASM).

Her son Tomás has severe autism and catatonia and through tethered running with his mother he has been able to pursue one of his passions.

Clonakilty chairman Ger McCarthy had been made aware of Crawford’s work through his daughter Elaine, a doctor in educational and child psychology. “It was probably the first time kids on the spectrum were discussed and the first time the word autism was used in the club,” he recalls. “There is a huge awareness now among members, among other parents, that we have to be mindful of children who have ASD.”

Clonakilty would subsequently be named Ireland’s first official autism-friendly town through a commercial community project and the club’s role in achieving that title can’t be understated.

Prior to Covid, they ran “Camp Cúl Eile” before organising a more inclusive event this year involving families.

Autism charity and advocacy group AsIam conducted an audit of the club to ensure it was meeting best practice. Coaches were to be trained by Cara, the national disability sporting organisation. A sensory area was to be developed while they were encouraged to create a social story around the training session so that the children could understand through pictures and photographs what they could expect at the club.

Each week, the club’s children’s officer Steven Peet links in with the autism group in Clonakilty and feeds information back to the members. “With Club Eile, we tried to keep an awareness of ASD among coaches and players,” says McCarthy.

“One in 65 school children is on the spectrum so if we have 750 kids here we certainly have children who are and there has to be an understanding of that.

“All sports organisations, we have a journey to travel as well in creating our own awareness. Initially, one of the parents who lives slightly outside the catchment area of Clonakilty said they hadn’t realised they could use our facilities without being a member. 

It’s more difficult for kids on the spectrum sometimes to learn to cycle but what we have here is for them. If we can get that message out there that we’re not a closed organisation, we want to be open and not just in terms of autism.”

Running a childcare centre in Taghmon, assisting kids on the spectrum has become a passion for Laurena Kent.

Her interest in the area rubbed off on her husband Derek, current Leinster vice-chairman, who in his role as chair of Wexford GAA in 2019 put the wheels in motion for the first Cúl Camp for autistic children.

Also, the joint captain of the senior hurlers Matthew O’Hanlon was a patron of the county’s Cottage Autism Network (CAN) with whom the county board linked up. County games manager Ray Harris was charged with overseeing the three-day camp.

“There was a lot of nervousness around it because we wanted to do it right and make sure it would last. We didn’t want it to be a token gesture.

“So we started to get to work with the local network. They had 80 families at the time and 120 now, I think, and they helped to point us in the direction of speech and language therapists in the local health board and teach us some non-verbal communication techniques with the kids who are non-verbal.”

Maria Banville, like the Kents a resident of Taghmon, was the point of contact in CAN. “It is really easy to make something autism-friendly. You ask yourself ‘what is going to help?’ A lot of the kids are noise sensitive so whistles wouldn’t help and small crowds do help. You need a very clear plan so we came up with the idea of stations and you moved through them as opposed to having to do different activities in one space. The key was making it really clear for the kids who are non-verbal or have comprehension issues that there were visual supports there.

“We broke the kids into colour-coded groups and you were the same colour every day and you had the same coach every day and they wore a lanyard of that colour. Some parents were very anxious going in but it made things very clear.

This year, the kids were shown a photo of their coach beforehand and on a large poster on the pitch so for those who had anxiety about what was going to happen next it was there for them.”

Coaches were also taught lámh sports signs for things such as goal, some which are performed on the Lámh website by Lee Chin. From over 120 kids in 2019, the figure increased to 180 at last month’s event with MacCauley’s Pharmacy on board as sponsors.

Staging the camp in Chadwicks Wexford Park was seen as being key to enhancing the children’s experience as well as involving siblings.

“We want the brothers and sisters to go together to make it more inclusive,” says Harris. “We wanted them to play hurling and football, to get them into Wexford Park and score a goal.

“A lot of work with special needs would be with fundamental movement and manual dexterity but we wanted them kicking a ball and pucking a sliotar. There are three zones, football, hurling and a fun zone in the middle, they spent 30 minutes in each and if they wanted to stay in the football drill they could stay, there was no problem with that. They might want to spend more time doing one because they really enjoy it. We were delighted that our coaches had the ability to change things if the kids found one exercise too easy or too hard.”

Plans are already in place for next year where Harris hopes to organise a six-week lead-in to the camp and similar follow-up after it so that coaches can cultivate more of a relationship with the children. It is also hoped Wexford GAA’s recently-announced tie-in with Carlow IT will provide research-based evidence that will be beneficial.

Wexford’s example was taken up in Clare where sports inclusion disability officer with Sport Ireland James Murrihy staged a similar camp in Cusack Park. “In the county, we probably have 400 kids with autism. We had 57 at the camp. The amount of work involved is large but it was a great starting point and we will be prepared for 120 next year.

“You have to keep GDPR in mind but one of the things we would have done is set up WhatsApp groups and the messages that were coming through from parents have been unbelievable.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to be standard-bearers in something and straight away (county secretary) Pat Fitzgerald made Cusack Park available. Games development administrator Micheál Duffy helped to make sure the coaches were teachers who have plenty of experience and we also gave them autistic specific training.”

Murrihy hopes to establish camps in Clare with the other two big field sport organisations next year, possibly a Down Syndrome camp with the IRFU and the FAI arranging one for intellectually disabled children.

During the GAA’s national inclusion fitness week last month, Murrihy mentions Corofin and Newmarket-on-Fergus have already been in touch with him about setting up their own events.

You want your child to have the same experiences as every other child. They will go home with their kit and their kitbag. The sessions mightn’t be as long and it might be a shorter week but so be it. The GAA is the biggest organisation in the country — why can’t we push the boat out on it?”

Galway, Offaly, and Waterford have also organised similar camps while clubs such as The Rock in Laois and Ballymun Kickhams in Dublin have or are about to stage such events. The benefit for the children is shared by the organisers, many of whom describe the experiences as inspiring.

Harris explains: “In the roles of games managers, we are judged by the results on the pitch, bringing players through and what happens for the underage and senior teams. We know and accept that — that’s the bread of butter of our job. But really getting to work with these kids who wouldn’t have the opportunity to play in Wexford Park is the most satisfying part of it. All our staff would say that.

“There is a potential knock-on effect here. They might fall in love with football or hurling and join a club, their parents might get involved in the administration of the club. What we did with them in these camps and in the schools is far more rewarding than any victory or cup.”