Fitness Issues in Physical Education Aisling Cleary

What is a Disability? The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) defines disability as "A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment" (US Department of Justice)

Who does this affect? Disabilities In America o More than 500 million people with disabilities worldwide o = 10% of human population o More than 54 million in US  Within this population, obesity is affects a large amount of disabled people.  Boys, 18 year olds, and individuals with cognitive disabilities are all more likely to be obese than their peers

Who is eligible for APE under IDEA? Requirements: 3 – 21 years old Must be evaluated to fit under what the federal government defines as the categories of disability 13 Categories of Disability 1.autism 2. deaf-blindness 3. deafness 4. emotional disturbance 5. hearing impairment 6. intellectual disability 7. multiple disabilities 8. orthopedic impairment 9. other health impairment 10. specific learning disability 11. speech or language impairment 12. traumatic brain injury 13. visual impairment (including blindness) 14.***** developmental delays (included in certain states)

Corrective Physical Education o Focus on = strength, improvement of overall motor skills, balance and flexibility o Often to correct posture or other mobility impairments o Origin= o In the 1920’s parent’s of children paralyzed by the polio epidemic saw a need for public schooling reforms o Polio was treated with Corrective Exercise = start of CORRECTIVE PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Adapted Physical Education Focus = modification for regular activities to allow individuals with disabilities to participate Origin = After WW2 many people were in need of rehabilitation from their injuries Adapted PE was the term that evolved from this time At the time there was much funding from the Kennedys and Shriver family Many federal legislators began to take notice to the issues surrounding APE  Many laws that benefit APE came out of this time

Developmental Physical Education Focus = basic fitness, motor skill training, goal is to improve skill levels to participate with peers

Important Federal Laws for APE PL = Elimination of Architectural Barriers Act any building funded by US fed $ must be accessible (disabled toilets, ramps) PL = Rehabilitation Act prohibiting discrimination on basis of disability PL = Education of All Handicapped Children Act requires free and appropriate education for all kids with disabilities INCLUDING PHYSICAL EDUCATION PL = Amateur Sports Act recognizes athletes w disabilities as part of Olympic movement PL = Individuals with disabilities act (IDEA) extends provisions to kids incorporating previous laws Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) extends broad protection of Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ppl with disabilities employers have to accommodate disabled employees

Public Law Important for APE because it emphasized the importance of physical education as school activity and required it be available for students with disabilities Goal = to place students in the least restrictive environment (LRE) and have them “mainstreamed” into regular classrooms considered LRE  Mandated by law Led to movement of Inclusion philosophy  Goal is to allow students to receive their APE as part of the regular PE classes  Not mandated by law

Does Inclusion and LRE help or hurt APE?

Two perspectives on Inclusion INCLUSION HELPS Provides students with LRE Segregation of students is unethical and unequal Separation is never “separate but equal” Students in regular PE class become accustomed to working with students with disabilities INCLUSION HURTS Doesn’t take into acount student’s personal needs Less individualized help Student’s are “left out” of most activities Not enough state mandated guidelines Less corrective and rehabilitative efforts for severely disabled students

Are we “adapting” the wrong class? Make inclusionary model law Make it state mandated that APE students participate in regular classes Make lesson plans that always have students with disabilities included at the fore front Create games and activities that allow different students to participate in different ways Include time for individualized attention (for rehabilitative efforts How? Change PE teacher requirements  Mandate every PE teacher take at least one undergraduate course on APE and have additional hours working with students with disabilities Train APE teachers to work to make lesson plans in conjunction with other PE classes

Are we focusing on the wrong idea? Less LRE, more individualization Instead of making the goal “mainstreaming” APE into regular PE because it is the LRE, Emphasize improving individualized attention in APE Put more emphasis on how the individual can improve their mobility rather than how the individual is doing compared to the “regular” class How? Hire more APE teachers to have permanent positions in schools Include weekly activities or games with regular class, but on a daily basis allow individualized attention

Issue of Commuting APE teachers Because Physical Education for students with disabilities is federally mandated, individual schools do not employ APE teachers This means the APE teachers are often traveling every day from school to school If schools hired permanent APE teachers, this would allow for more individualized attention for students Could also provide APE teachers with a way to create recreational sports teams that can compete Permanent APE teachers would allow more time to meet with regular PE teachers and make plans to combine courses or have combined activities and reach goal of LRE