The following is an example of the first page of an assignment to highlight the ways in which in-text citations can be used within paraphrased text.
Can sport be used as a tool to improve the self-esteem, behaviour and social skills in children with ‘hidden disabilities’?
Sport has the power to overcome many problems faced by children with ‘hidden disabilities’ such as autism and Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to overcome issues with self-esteem, behaviour or social skills. When working with a child with a hidden disability, coaches and teachers may not be able to initially see the difficulties faced by a child because, on the surface, they appear to be the same as all the other children. The aim of this assignment is to examine how behaviours, such as aggression, can be managed in these children in order to improve their social skills and prevent them from being disinterested in, or excluded from, sporting activities outside of the educational setting.
The physical characteristics of some disabilities may not be obvious to the casual observer and are therefore ‘hidden’ (Bodey, 2010). In her research, Bodey found that children in this situation are often well-known in the educational setting and their teachers have had training, resources and support. In contrast, coaches in the sport setting have not always received the same level of knowledge to give them the understanding needed to support the child (Freeman, 2016; Zhang et al., 2018).
Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and ADHD all have a broad spectrum of ability and outward presentation so it is important for practitioners to firstly understand the child, and secondly, employ strategies to engage and retain them. Braune and Braune (2015) suggest that there has been very little focus in the literature on the impact of these disabilities on children within the sport setting and that issues which occur are often misinterpreted as bad behaviour, defiance and lack of motivation. They also discuss ways in which sports practitioners can promote positive sport experiences and utilise various strategies and techniques.
With a focus on ASD, Guest et al. (2017) examined the impact of a multi-sport camp on thirteen girls with ASD between the ages of 8-11 with the aim of improving motor skills, physical self-perceptions and social skills. The girls were identified as having ASD but this study also specified some additional exclusion criteria which included aggressive behaviour.
