Adapted PE Brings Together Kids With and Without Disabilities

---

Story and photos by Denise Jarrett

BEAVERTON, OREGON—

"Oh crap!" the sixth-grader mutters. He's guarding third base on the kickball court, and a girl on the opposing team has just kicked the ball high and long. She runs hard and lands on third base. The baseman, Nathan, leans over the arm of his motorized wheelchair and hisses at the girl, who hisses back triumphantly.

The ball's kicked back into play, and Nathan shouts, "Throw it to me! Throw it to me!"

The girl on third runs home, but another is tagged. Three outs. The teams switch places, and Nathan (not his real name) takes his turn at the plate, the footrests of his wheelchair turned back and out of the way. Toes pointing down and leaning forward in his chair, he waits for the pitch. His teammates call from behind.

"Go Nathan!"

"Hey, you want someone to run for you?"

"Nathan, let him run for you."

"No!" Nathan punts the ball and motors to first base.

Any grownup watching from the sidelines might think, now there's a kid with a disability who's just one of the gang. And, of course, that's true. But every child is different, and Nathan's wheelchair makes his differences particularly apparent. Aware of this, everyone playing kickball on the court today is also engaged in a balancing act: treating Nathan like just another team member, yet extending some special treatment to level the playing ground.

At 12 years old, Nathan's a seasoned juggler of both these spheres of his life, say his teachers. Born with arthrogryposis, a condition that causes stiff joints and weak muscles, Nathan's learned to advocate for his independence when he yearns for it, and to accept help when he needs it. And, like any preteen, he might shirk a task now and then, or say a naughty word when the teacher's out of earshot. Mostly, he wants to succeed and to fit in with his peers.

These are also the goals of adapted physical education (APE). In an APE program, students with disabilities participate in a regular PE class, with some adjustments made to meet their needs and abilities. It's one of the latest approaches to providing students with disabilities services that address the needs of the whole child: his social, emotional, educational, and physical well-being.

Social awareness about the needs of people with disabilities emerged in the United States in the 1900s. The World Wars and polio epidemics impelled medical advances in orthopedic treatment. Services to individuals with disabilities grew steadily, and by the 1960s laws were being passed ensuring the education of students with disabilities. Today, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Public Law 101-476, mandates free, appropriate public education, including physical education, for students with disabilities. Schools are required to place students with disabilities in environments that are least restrictive to their growth. Sometimes this means placing students in special PE classes where they receive intensive, individualized attention and the use of specialized equipment. Many times, the most suitable placement is in the mainstream class, with some modifications.

Sarah Whitman is Nathan's adapted physical education teacher. On staff at the Beaverton School District in a suburb of Portland, she consults frequently with his regular PE teacher, Susan Fatland, at Mountain View Middle School. Whitman suggests ways that Nathan can stretch and exercise his range of motion while taking part in activities with his able-bodied classmates. Few adaptations are necessary to make the games and activities accessible to him. He does stretching exercises in his chair. In volleyball, he uses a larger beach ball, and, in kickball, he's permitted to "steal" bases. He can't run laps, but he joins the class in turns around the track, motoring his chair and hooting at those he passes up. When he's parked, the other kids jostle for the handles of his wheelchair, a place of honor.

The physical, emotional, and social development of the child are key considerations of any adapted physical education program, says Whitman. Placing a child in a mainstream PE class can help foster positive self-esteem, social skills, and independence that will serve him into adulthood. Yet some children with severe cognitive or physical disabilities need the intensive and individualized treatment provided by a separate, special physical education class.

At nearby Beaver Acres Elementary, Whitman works with other members of the district's motor development team in an adapted PE class that includes the Movement Opportunity Via Education (MOVE) curriculum. The program uses specialized equipment to enable students to get out of their wheelchairs and into a prone position so that they can work on standing and participate in games. There are about eight children, each attended by a teacher assistant, APE teacher, or physical therapist. Holding the edges of a "parachute" in the gym on a recent day, the children, with the help of their teachers, toss and roll yellow balls on a brightly colored tarp. Several of the children are upright in their specialized equipment, such as mobile prone standers, gait trainers, and tricycles that support and exercise their muscles. Despite the children's restricted mobility, the bouncing balls and billowing tarp excite great fun.

Placing children with disabilities in an appropriate program is a critical aspect of special education, and it's an area most likely to cause parents concern, says Whitman.

"Occasionally, parents want their kids in the regular class with kids their own age," rather than in mixed-age special education classes, says Whitman. "They're afraid their child may regress or pick up bad habits from other kids due to the varying levels of disabilities in a self-contained class."

How can children with disabilities get the attention they need? In what environment will they be most successful? How will their placement affect them emotionally? These are central questions teachers and parents must consider, says Whitman.

For Nathan, being with his able-bodied classmates is right where he wants to be. While he sometimes gets tired of explaining to them why he's in a wheelchair, he enjoys it when they clamor for an illicit ride on the back.

Kids will be kids.

Respond to this article