Waking the Dragon and Making it Fly—Dragon Boating for Children with Special Needs
Dragon boat racing has been called a modern sport with ancient traditions (Haslam, 2007); and as a sport, it has shown tremendous growth in participation in the United States and internationally (Lee, 2007). Currently, more than 50 million people in 62 countries participate in the modern sport of dragon boat racing (Haslam, 2007; Weikhorst, 2009). Most dragon boat organizations promote both competitive and recreational aspects of the sport. For instance, the mission of the United States Dragon Boat Federation is to “ promote the growth and development of dragon boating in the U.S. for fitness, recreation, and team building at all levels of competition” (United States Dragon Boat Federation, n.d.).
Dragon boating has a strong history of participation by breast cancer survivors (Courneya, Mackey, & McKenzie, 2002; Haslam, 2007), and many national dragon boat organizations have shown a commitment to inclusion. As an example, Dragon Boat Canada’s policy on equity and access for people with disabilities includes having individuals with and without disabilities paddling in the same boat, as well as establishing racing classes for individuals with disabilities (Dragon Boat Canada, n.d.). Dragon Boat Canada’s policy includes a description of many features of the sport facilitating participation by individuals with a variety of conditions and disabilities, including—
- basic paddling action is simple and easy to learn;
- there are a variety of audible, visual, and sensory cues to help paddle in time;
- paddling is from a seated position;
- each paddler is in close reach of up to five other paddlers who can coach and give assistance;
- all steering and control of the boat are done by a sweep;
- steersperson’s commands to the crew can be communicated in a variety of ways;
- it is easy to accommodate a variety of levels of capability within one boat;
- racing rules can be modified, subject to considerations of safety and fairness, to allow people with disabilities to compete.
In addition to features described by Dragon Boat Canada, the boat is relatively stable. Dragon boats are double keeled like a catamaran and, therefore, provide greater stability than a canoe with one keel (Paddle for Pink, n.d.).
Dragon boat racing has formal rules, and races vary in length from 200 to 2000 m. A boat crew is typically 22 people—20 paddlers, plus a drummer and a sweep. During training, however, the drummer is often replaced by a coach who leads the crew and calls out paddling cadence. Paddlers face forward and paddle in a similar manner to canoeing; the sweep is positioned at the back, steering the boat with a long sweep oar (see Figure 1).
The literature does not report participation of children with disabilities in dragon boating. The aim of this article is to describe briefly our program and results of an evaluation undertaken over two summers.
A Program for Children with Disabilities
Our Center is a family-oriented organization, providing multidisciplinary programs and services to children and youths with physical, developmental, and/or emotional/behavioral challenges. Dragon boat paddling was instigated by Center staff in 2005 to provide accessible physical activity opportunities for children with a wide range of abilities, skill levels, strengths, and challenges. Dragon boating was considered accessible for children receiving services from our Center because—
the boat provides an alternative form of mobility for children with ambulation difficulties;
many paddlers propel the boat; therefore, the children could contribute to the propulsion as their conditions allowed (e.g., children with muscle weakness or children who became distracted were not disadvantaged);
having many people in the boat (compared with a canoe or kayak) allows for proximal adult support where necessary;
complexity of paddling is reduced (compared with canoeing or kayaking), because the children do not have to propel and steer. (the sweep steers the boat and keeps the boat away from hazards);
the boat is relatively stable.
The program involved 8 sessions of 90 minutes each over 4 weeks. The overarching goal was for each child to have successful sessions on the water. More specific program goals were to provide opportunities for the children to continue to work on their therapy objectives, and to develop independence with life skills (e.g., dressing—putting on the life jacket, working with others, and being responsible for personal belongings—paddle, water bottle, and life jacket); social skills (speaking in front of a group, listening to others, making eye contact); and motor skills, self-efficacy, and motor planning associated with paddling.
The typical schedule of activities each day was divided into three segments—get ready, paddling on the water, and conclusion.
Getting ready. As children arrived they were greeted, and some children (e.g., children with autism) checked the visual schedule (see Figure 2). The children then put on life jackets (with assistance as necessary) and joined the warm-up activities (parachute games, stretching and mobilizing), and a communication component (see Figure 3). Focus of the communication component was to speak in front of others (say their names and answer a simple question), active listening to peers, and attending visually to the group. After warm-up, paddles were distributed to the children who lined up in boat order, designated by a therapist.
Paddling on the water. Children and therapists/volunteers paddled in the same boat. Typically the ratio of adults to children was 3:1; however, some children required 1:1 support. The sweep who steered the boat was an experienced adult dragon boat paddler (see Figure 1). Basic tasks of paddling were to get in and out of the boat correctly (with assistance as necessary), hold the paddle with one hand on the top and the other near the blade (T-grip), follow boat commands, and paddle in time to an auditory four count. Frequent short (1-2 min) breaks to rest, have a drink, and incorporate a social skills component (e.g., the coach teaching about the surrounding environment/ecosystem, or asking a boat-wide question and everyone answering) were incorporated. To add variety and kindle motivation, the following activities were included—
- waking up the dragon (6 hard strokes), and making it fly (followed by 14 fast strokes);
- asking children to predict how many strokes it will take to reach a fixed point in the distance; then paddle the distance and compare their predictions ;
- stroking and then tapping the gunwale (i.e., “stroke, tap, stroke, tap….”);
- social comparisons (e.g., front half of the boat paddle, then the back half; adults vs. children; wearing hats vs. not wearing hats);
- tug of war (e.g., back of the boat paddles forward, front paddles backwards).
During the program, adaptations were made for individual children. Table 2 describes many adaptations designed to foster successful experiences.
Ending the Session. Children washed and put away their paddles (see Figure 4), returned their life jackets, and verbally shared their thoughts with the group about the best parts of the session. Once children had left for the day, therapists/volunteers debriefed and determined whether additional adjustments were needed.
Table 1
Adaptations in the Boat and Program
| Visual Schedule | Children were provided with a visual schedule pictorially and temporally describing session activities (see Figure 2) |
| Parachute Games | As children arrived at the program they could join therapist-led parachute games—to provide activity while children gradually arrived, as some children had difficulty waiting (see Figure 3). |
| Velcro Band on Paddle | Neoprene Velcro bands were added to the paddles to provide a visual and kinesthetic cue of where to hold the paddle (see Figure 5). |
| Splinting/Velcro | For children with weakness associated with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, a bike glove with Velcro sewn on the fingers and palm was worn on the non-affected hand. A matching neoprene Velcro pad was attached to the T of the paddle to help secure the “power hand.” A splint was used on the affected hand (which was in the “base hand” position) in combination with a neoprene band wrapped around the neck of the paddle, to act as a blocker to prevent the splinted hand from sliding up and off the paddle (see Figure 5). |
| Resting/Social Skills |
Developing age-appropriate social skills with peers was one of the primary goals of the program. Many of our participants spend the majority of their social times interacting with adults who are more accommodating of the child’s strength and challenges than peers tended to be. Therefore, group and resting times specifically included the following aspects of social skills—
|
| Seat and Foot Rest | A commercially available stadium seat with a metal frame was modified to include an arm rest (inside boat side), and a clamp mounted on the bottom to slip under the seat and secure it to the boat seat (see Figure 6). The removable seat in combination with the simple 3” foam wedge foot rest provided postural support. |
| 4-Count | To help children with stroke timing a count of four was used. |
| Boat Positioning | Children most able to keep time with their strokes were positioned toward the front of the boat. Therapists were positioned at the front and back of the boat, and within the boat so every child was no more than two seats away from an adult. Seating was also used to provide leadership opportunities to older, and more experienced, children in the boat, who would not otherwise have opportunities to take on leadership roles within their social contexts. |
Conclusion
We have been dragon boating with children having disabilities for five years, with no mishaps and plenty of happy and satisfied participants. Survey findings demonstrated the children were able to master the skills of dragon boating, with adult support in the boat and some adaptations. These adaptations included physical supports, such as the stadium seat and wrist splint, as well alterations to the activity itself, such as taking breaks and providing a variety of activities to sustain interest. The children also responded positively to opportunities to develop their social skills.
A major rationale in establishing this program was concern by therapists that many children were not experiencing success in their school physical education classes, or community-based recreation (personal communication, A. Freeman, June 2009). Many of the children had repeatedly experienced lack of success because necessary supports were not in place. However, this program focused on dismantling physical and social barriers within the environment. Success was achieved by many small achievements—each fostering children’s efficacy and sense of accomplishments. Our experiences suggested dragon boating can be an enjoyable and successful experience for a range of children with physical, cognitive, and behavioral disabilities. Others are encouraged to consider dragon boating as a physical activity option for children with disabilities and to make the dragon fly!
Selected References
Courneya, K. S., Mackey, J. R., & McKenzie, D. C. (2002). Exercise for breast cancer survivors: Research evidence and clinical guidelines. The Physician and SportsMedicine, 30, 18.
Dragon Boat Canada. (n.d.). Policy on equity and access for people with disabilities.
Haslam, M. (2007). Report to the GAISF General Assembly on dragon boat sport: International Dragon Boat Federation.
Lee, B. (2007). The way of the dragon: Dragon boat racing dips deep into endurance training. American Fitness, 25, 46-47.
Paddle for Pink. (n.d.). Safety info!!! Retrieved December 3, 2009, from http://www.paddleforpink.org/
United States Dragon Boat Federation. (n.d.). Welcome to the United States Dragon Boat Federation. Retrieved December 3, 2009, from http://www.usdbf.org/
Weikhorst, H. (2009). Dragon boat world international from http://www.dragonboatworldinternational.com/
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the Queen Alexandra Foundation for its ongoing financial support, the Queen Alexandra Center Fisher Seating and Orthotics for assisting with the creation of the necessary equipment adaptations, the Gorge Rowing and Paddling Center for their ongoing commitment to providing recreational partnership opportunities, Brad Temple for his time and effort photographing the program, and Audrey Gibson, Program Coordinator for the School Age Program for supporting the therapists’ participation in the program.
Biographical Sketch
Viviene A. Temple is an Associate Professor at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her research focuses on enhancing opportunities for physical activity for children and adults with disabilities. Allison Freeman is an Occupational Therapist at the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health (QACCH), BC, Canada, in the School Age Program. She works in the school environment with children with a variety of diagnoses and functional challenges. Since 2007 she has been the coordinator of the Dragon Boat Paddling Program. Carrie deBoer is an Occupational Therapist in the School Program at QACCH. She has been working in pediatrics for the last 6 years. Throughout that time she has been involved with leading adapted recreational groups for students such as indoor rock climbing, dragon boat paddling, and bicycle riding. Julie Southward is an Occupational Therapist at QACCH. She has been working in pediatrics for the last 8 years. She has written two evidence-based practice reviews and assists with the QACCH indoor climbing and dragon boat programs.
