June Topic: Physical Activities With Students With

Disabilities

According to the Physical Disability Council of NSW, a physical disability pertains to: Total or partial loss of a persons bodily functions and total or partial loss of a part of the body.

This can include: fine motor skills, walking, amputation, etc. According to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental

Disabilities, an intellectual disability pertains to: a disability defined by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior

This can include: general mental capacity with learning, reasoning, problem solving etc. Also including conceptual, social, and practical skills.

Sources: aaidd.org/intellectual-disability/definition#.VX7380uus08, www.pdcnsw.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&id=49:what-is-physical-disability&itemid=118

REMINDERS! Keep working on your journals! We

will be sharing our entries next week. We will be practicing our cursive on

Monday! Parents: Make sure to bring your

signed permission slip to the Botanical Gardens by Tuesday.

Happy Friday! The next five newsletters will contain special information on physical activity in relation to children with disabilities. We will learn what kinds of disabilities there are and how physical activity is important for students with disabilities. We will also learn how to implement and encourage physical activities in the classroom and also outdoors. Lastly we will discuss ways to continue physical activity at home for students with disabilities and how to help our friends feel comfortable and safe in school.

Get Involved! There are many ways to get involved with the disability community.

Special Olympics Michigan!

There are volunteer opportunities and a

whole calendar full of fun events and programs to go to!

The next event will be on June 22nd from 7:00am-12: 30pm in Grand Rapids Michigan and they will be hosting the Highlands Golf Classic.

If you would like to get involved the link is on the bottom or contact me for more information! LINK: www.somi.org Picture Source: http://blog.mlive.com/news/baycity_impact/2009/03/large_special-olympics1mlive.jpg

Physical Activities That Include Students With Physical Disabilities:

Its important in school to understand the relation of physical disabilities and physical activity performance. Environmental influences include:

The immediate area of the physical activity taking place.

The inclusion of all students and the participation of all students.

The interactions with peers. Its important to remember to encourage students with physical disabilities and be aware of creating physical activities that include and accommodate all students Task influences include:

Goals, rules, and specific equipment to involve all students.

Its important to provide equipment that students with physical disabilities can use and implement them in daily physical activities. The goals set should be the same for all students and should include all students rather than modified for students with physical disabilities.. This creates success for everyone! Reference: Menear, K. & Davis, T. (2007). Modifying Physical Activities to Include Individuals with Disabilities: A Systematic Approach. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 78 (2), 37-41.

June Topic: Physical Activities With Students With

Disabilities Activities With Friends!

The Maze This activity can include students with physical disabilities! What you will need: 20 poly spots (can be in a gym or blacktop setting) Preparing: Set the poly spots so that they are about 3 feet apart

on all sides and they are all lined up with one another (10 by 10)

Have list of steps that involve moving right/left or forward/backward. Have a variety of list with different steps. Make sure you make combinations that will not have students overlap one another

Activity: Divide students into two teams Have one set of partners stand at one end of the maze

and the other set of partners at the other side. Hand one side the list to call out the steps to their partner

When the activity starts have the students with the list call out the steps and their partner follow the steps. If they get the step wrong they must go back to the beginning of the maze and start over

Once one team has helped all their partners through the maze stop the game and switch the set of partners who call out the steps and follow the steps

Be sure to: Cheer on your teammates! Be respectful of all the players Be safe Have fun!

Picture Source: http://www.vbcpsblogs.com/core/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Wheelchair-course.jpg

Physical Activities That Include Students With Intellectual Disabilities

Children with Intellectual disabilities (ID) are one of the largest populations of disability students in a school setting. It is important to identify areas that can assess and improve physical activity for students with intellectual disabilities. There are three specific principles that can be used to assess students with intellectual disabilities and provide the most beneficial physical activity: 1. List of what reinforces them: This can include specific enjoyments

such as verbal or non-verbal praising, stickers, hugs, high-fives, etc.

2. Describe his or her strengths in physical activity: This can include having leg flexibility, can run fast, can jump high, etc.

3. List of their favorite activities: This can include: loves music, dancing, singing, helping set up an activity, etc.

It is important to be aware of certain areas of sensitivity and emotion that can affect a student with ID and create an environment that can include students with ID and other students.

This creates success for everyone! Reference: Davis, K., Hodson, P., Zhang, G., Boswell, B. & Decker, J. (2010). Providing Physical Activity for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: The Motivate, Adapt, and Play Program. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 81 (5), 23-28

June Topic: Physical Activities With Students With

Disabilities

Activities With Friends! Four Corners

This activity can include students with intellectual disabilities! Prepare: Four signs that have numbers 1-4 labeled on them or

four different colors Pictures of children jumping, skipping, running, and

marching and place one of these movements in one of the corners

This can be in a classroom or gym setting Activity: Point to each numbered corner and have students

walk to each number Explain to the students that you will ask them a

question and if their answer is yes they need to go to a certain numbered corner and if their answer is no they need to run to a certain numbered corner. While they are going to their specific corner they need to do the movement that is in the picture next to the numbered corner

A sample question could include: o Do you like cats? If yes go to corner 1

(skipping) if no then go to corner 4 (run) Be sure to: Be respectful of all students Be safe Have fun!

Picture Source: http://pad3.whstatic.com/images/thumb/a/aa/Play-Four-Corners-Step-1.jpg/670px-Play-Four-Corners-Step-1.jpg

Encouraging Physical Activity at Home

There has been a lot of discussion of implementing physical activity in a school setting for children with disabilities, but we are not going to discuss how to continue that implementation to the home setting. Research has indicated that children

with disabilities preferred to engage in physical activity with friends outside of school at in a home setting.

It is important for parents to encourage daily physical activity when their children are not at school and are home.

Some parents are not aware of the physical activities they can involve their children in at home!

Children with disabilities tend to have lower motivation in participating in physical activity and need more support in private settings at home when they feel more comfortable with engaging in physical activity. Reference: Rubin, D. (2014). Rationale and design of active play at home: a parent-led physical activity program for children with and without disability. BMC Pediatrics, 14 (1), 41

June Topic: Physical Activities With Students With

Disabilities

REMINDERS! Dont forget to bring in your plant on Monday! We will be

sketching our plants and tracking our plants growth. Wednesday will be the school used book sale so if you would like

to purchase a book be sure to bring in your money!

Parents: You Play a Role Too! Just like all parents, you can promote physical activity by also

participating in daily physical activity! If they see you being active and healthy, they will follow.

There are many reliable and useful resources that are available for parents who may need some ideas or tips on how to get their child and themselves physical involved!

I have found the National Association of Parents with Children in Special Education to be a great resource for parents to get information and news on the disability community! Check out the link below or contact me for more information!

Link: http://www.napcse.org Picture Source:: http://www.chicagoparent.com/media/8752797/garcia.jpg

Picture Sources: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/e9/da/39/e9da3946fc72ce766d9f58adb79d2e32.jpg & http://www.norfil.org/images/header/happy%20children%20with%20disabilities%20with%20the%20group%20of%20other%20children%20in%20the%20community.jpg

June Topic: Physical Activities With Students With

Disabilities

Community Involvement Its important to learn about the disability community but its even more important to get involved with our community to make sure that we can provide a safe and welcoming environment for our friends. There are a few factors to consider when planning a community physical activity event or program that includes people with disabilities:

Does the place you are holding the event have accessible entrances and exits that people with disabilities can use?

Do your activities include everyone and will there be any modifications you need to make?

Encourage involvement of everyone who is a part of the event, which includes, planning and implementing physical activities.

How Can You Help Your Community? What can family, teachers, and friends do to help? Be a role model and encourage the importance of physical

activity and healthy living! Encourage students to be involved in physical activities and

promote that by creating activities that include students with and without disabilities

Do your research on the disability community in order to be understanding and a friend to those who have disabilities

Get involved and educate other community members about the disability community!

We Love to Read! Books can be a great resource for educating your friend, family, or child on disabilities! There are many different books that teach about disabilities and we will be reading this one in class!

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