Unified Basketball program promotes social inclusion

Program continues to spread

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

On Friday mornings this winter at Arapahoe High School, the gym was full of students coaching and playing basketball with their peers with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

e program, Uni ed Basketball, exists at all three Littleton public high schools to bring students with special needs together with other students to play sports and develop friendships.

is school year, all four district middle schools also started Uni ed teams.

The impact of Unified

As an athlete, Arapahoe senior Milana Rosazza values sports and believes everyone deserves the opportunity to play. When she got in- jured and could not play soccer last year, she joined Uni ed Basketball.

As a coach for the team, she runs drills and coaches games for students who receive special needs support. Aside from coaching, some students participate in the Uni ed team as “peers” who join the athletes on-court.

In her role, Rosazza sees what a di erence the program makes for the athletes and for students like herself.

“I’ve participated in a lot of things at school… but none of those compare to how Uni ed sports has a ected me,” she said.

Allison Rooney, a special education teacher and one of the Uni ed program sta sponsors at Arapahoe, said the program is incredibly valuable to the students who practice with and coach Uni ed athletes.

“It’s such a great opportunity for our typical peers to have exposure to kids that are di erent and… to