GOLDEN, Colo. — The National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) has opened its new Adaptive Program Center at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
The group, based in Winter Park, provides therapeutic recreation, competition and adaptive sports for children and adults with disabilities. NSCD opened the space with a field day with more than 100 Aurora Public School students and launched its summer adaptive mountain biking program.
Julie Taulman, NSCD president and CEO, said she believes the space will provide an opportunity to grow.
“It’s a place where we can provide adaptive outdoor programming for people with disabilities here on site, as well as store our equipment,” Taulman said. “Our kayaks, we’re getting a new climbing wall that we’ll have out here, our archery stuff, our mountain bikes, and have them on location where our staff can grab them and go or do programs on-site.”
The NSCD will offer a variety of programs and lessons on-site in the spring, summer and fall, including mountain biking, road cycling and archery.
“Last year, we served about 256 students. We provided anywhere from five to six different program experiences,” Taulman said. “We need to be healthy. We need to be socializing. We need to be out in the great outdoors, and people with disabilities are no different.”
The NSCD is a member of the Move United member network and received a $50,000 grant from The Hartford for adaptive cycles used to launch an adaptive cycling program.
“We want this to become a space where people with disabilities feel like it’s their kind of home away from home,” Taulman said. “They get to be them, and they get to be out in a place and have fun all day long, that’s really exciting for us.”
The group hosted a field day for students from Aurora to help highlight their schools program. The group works with Aurora, Denver and Douglas County schools to bring outdoor adaptive experiences to students for free.
“It’s no cost to the schools and no cost to the kids to be able to come out,” Taulman said. “It was really focused on trying to really meet some of those inner-city kids and some of the kids that maybe really don’t have access to driving up to Winter Park.”
The new space is a place where students like 9-year-old Luke Carruth can have the same opportunities as his classmates. Luke is a double amputee and had his legs amputated at 1 year old. He wears prosthetic legs and can now ride an adaptive bike for the first time.
“He is an avid and competitive swimmer, he loves the water, he loves to jump on the trampoline, he loves doing anything any other 9-year-old loves to do,” said Luke’s mom, Kelsey Carruth. “Today’s the first day on the bike and it’s heartwarming. It’s amazing. He struggled a lot being able to ride your typical bike.”
Both Kelsey Carruth and Luke’s younger brother, Isaac, are also double leg amputees after being born with a congenital disability. Kelsey was part of NSCD growing up and wanted the same for her kids.
“I have wanted to just be like anybody else and be active, and I was part of NSCD as a kid,” Kelsey Carruth said. “That’s all I’ve wanted for my kids, and NSCD is continuing to provide that.”
The new program center offers 100+ acres and has easy access to trails. The Hartford surprised Luke with an adaptive hand cycle. Taulman said she hopes the new space will provide more outdoor opportunities to people with disabilities.
“We hope to open the doors for them, and we want them to make this part of their everyday life,” Taulman said. “We want this to become a space where people with disabilities feel like it’s their kind of home away from home.”
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