Diversity Paper...By: Rachel Renkoski and I

Barriers and Supports Vs. Abilities and Disabilities

Physical Education in the school setting is an important part of every student’s educational experience, regardless of their ability level. It can help them improve not only their motor skills and sports knowledge, but prepare them for a time in their lives when they will be responsible for their own health and fitness choices. As P.E. teachers we not only teach our students physical skills, but appropriate socialization, effective communication, team work and problem solving strategies, and the rewards of persistence. NASPE agrees that, “Quality physical education programs are needed to increase the physical competence, health-related fitness, self-responsibility, and the enjoyment of physical activity for all students so that they can be physically active for a lifetime.”

In the next paragraph we will discuss some common barriers that disrupt a positive physical education experience for students with disabilities. According to Michelle Zevely, Butte County SPED director, the 13 Eligibilities that can lead to most of these barriers are: Autism, Intellectual Disabilities, Emotionally Disturbed, Specific Learning, Disabilities, Speech and Language, Deaf/Blindness, Visual Impairment, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Multiple Disabilities, Orthopedic Impairment, and Traumatic Brain Injury. (Zevely) These disabilities significantly affect student’s ability levels and inclusion in daily P.E. activities. Every student should be addressed as a unique individual and assessed to determine of which abilities he or she is capable. In, High School Physical Education Teachers' Beliefs about Teaching Students with Mild to Severe Disabilities, Mr. Harding, a General Education teacher said, “The big concern I have [is] finding out what the student is capable of doing of not capable of doing. Information access in terms of medical conditions and such is difficult to come by yet necessary in allowing me to prepare adequately …. It does make it easier once you get to know your student and talk to him and find out more about his abilities and what he enjoys doing in order to reward him.”

One student with the common disability of ADHD believed that he could perform on a much higher skill level than his actual abilities allowed him. When the P.E. teacher was giving specific skill instruction on the new unit, the student was often distracted, squirming, and talking. Mrs. Metcalf reported that, “He often boasts of his skills even before a new unit. Then when we actually get a chance to perform, he performs worse than the majority of my students.” ADHD can affect a student’s ability level by interfering with a student’s understanding of the specific skill concept and valuable time on task skills practice. These detrimental barriers are also common characteristics among many of the other 13 eligibilities.

PE Central describes Autism as, “a pervasive developmental disorder that can impair an individual’s ability to interact socially and form relationships as well as communicate verbally and non-verbally.” Autism is obviously on the rise. According to Simpson, “Between 1997 and 2006 the number of children with Autism in public special education programs increased from 42,517 to 224,584.” Teachers need to encourage communication and socialization in students with Autism. Students in the Autism Spectrum can perform with a wide variety of ability levels. Even though students with Asperger Syndrome are higher functioning, than students with Autism, some physical educators have noted that these students, “…demonstrate motor clumsiness, over activity, inattention, and emotional problems such as depression which affect their ability to instruct children with AS in the general physical education setting.” (Safran)

The NICHCY (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities) explains Visual Impairment, as, “specific impairments like strabismus, congenital cataracts, retinopathy, coloboma, optic nerve hypoplasia, cortical visual impairment, and partial or complete blindness”. These different forms of visual impairments can shape a student’s life and inevitably their own movement experiences. Students with visual impairments rely on friends, family, and eventually teachers in the education system to broaden their movement experiences and motor skills knowledge. “Individuals with visual impairments have significantly higher levels of obesity and often exhibit delays in motor development, caused by a general lack of opportunities to be physically active,” says Toni Morelli, an expert in the visual impairment field.

"In order to increase the physical activity levels of youth with disabilities so that they may experience the benefits of a physically active lifestyle, we must work to remove the barriers to participation which they encounter and, at the same time, increase our levels of support." (Block) There are a wide variety of supports an APE teacher can implement in their classes.

In Physical Education for Students with Autism: Teaching Tips and Strategies, they note that, “… programs should have consistency from day to day, verbal instructions should be brief and waiting time should be minimized." Students with ADHD can benefit from direct instruction and immediate feedback as well as task sheets that aid in maintaining focus and time on task. Incentives such as small rewards that are meaningful to the specific student truly motivate students to function to the best of their ability level.

Finally, after discussing how barriers and supports can affect students of different levels of ability we can truly value the understanding of all limitations and ability levels. Effective supports can overcome almost any barriers a student with disability may have. Most importantly, creating and implementing supports that overcome these barriers and help prevent low self-esteem within these students. One 23 year old student reflected on his P.E. experience:  “I wanted to tell them to simply be patient, understanding, and explain what you want me to do and how to do the activity… and then tell them this; I needed more individualized assistance and support in the classroom, I needed a lot more motivation to participate in activities and try new things, I needed a P.E. teacher that could remain as positive as possible when I struggled with the activities and interaction with peer.” (Simpson)

References

Jason C. Bishop and Martin E. Block
Positive Illusory Bias in Children with ADHD in Physical Education, November/Demember 2012.

Martin E. Block, Ph.D., Andrea Taliaferro, Ph.D., and Tom Moran, Ph.D
Physical Activity and Youth with Disabilities: Barriers and Supports, April 2013.

Kevin M. Casebolt, Samuel R. Hodge
High School Physical Education Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching Students with Mild to Severe Disabilities, September 2010.

Janine Coates, Philip Vickerman
Let the Children Have Their Say: Children with Special Educational Needs and Their Experiences of Physical Education, November 1998.

Kristi Sayers Menear, Shannon Smith
Physical Education for Students with Autism: Teaching Tips and Strategies, May 2008.

 

Tony Morelli, John Foley, Lauren Lieberman, Eelke Folmer
Pet-N-Punch upper body tactile/audio exer-game to engage children with visual impairments into physical activity, 2011.

NASPE website, National Association for Sports and Physical Education, July 2013

NICHCY (National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities) Website, NICHCY Disability Fact Sheet, November 2012.

PE Central website, 2013.

Cynthia G. Simpson, Mark D. Gaus, Mary Jo Garcia Biggs, James Williams Jr
Physical Education and Implications for Students With Asperger's Syndrome, July/August 2010.

Jing Qi, Amy Sau, Ching Ha

Hong Kong Physical Education Teacher’s Beliefs about Teaching Students with Disabilities: A Qualitative Analysis, July 2002.

Li Weidong, Paul B. Rukavina, Chelsea Foster
Overweight or Obese Students' Perceptions of Caring in Urban Physical Education Programs, June 2013.

 

Michelle Zevely, Guest Speaker in KINE 515, Butte County SPED Director. July 2013.