Scooter Boards. If students can propel their own scooter boards, wonderful! Often they may only need some assistance to get going. Some of the more severely involved students may need full assistance (pushing, pulling, and spotting) for the entire ride. It does not matter how much assistance is needed; what matters is the experience of traveling from one point in space to another in the most fun-filled, exciting way possible. Even our more fragile students love to use a larger, softer, adapted scooter, and have the feeling of zooming and spinning around with peers. Obviously, care must be taken as needed (students with shunts due to hydrocephalus do not need to be spun around). Still, many more students than one might think can safely participate in this activity and would be thrilled to do so; just give them the chance! Obstacle Course. This is the gold standard which allows for exploration, problem solving, and individualized teaching due to its informal station format. Be creative! Students in electric wheelchairs or gurneys can negotiate interesting and safe courses. For example, just having them move through a series of multi-colored plastic flags hung from a clothesline is safe, stimulating, and fun. Many other similarly interesting and adaptable ideas for the course can be gleaned from some of the other instructional units described here. Slalom courses for students in electric wheelchairs are common events in some sport contests involving athletes with disablities. The obstacle course format allows for virtually any skill or activity to be taught within its framework. With the use of seasonal themes, plus a little creativity, this activity can be everyone's favorite. Body Bowling. This is another popular event in which with care even more severely involved students can participate safely. In this activity, the student rolls his/her body into bowling pins, or plastic pins, trying to knock down as many as possible within a specified time frame. Students who cannot roll independently can have help to do so. Feel free to use a mat for comfort. For the most severe disabilities, a student can lie supine and turn his/her head toward the pins. This often facilitates extension of the limbs on this side (due to the asymmetric tonic neck reflex which is often present in children with neurologic deficits), which can then reach the pins to knock over. Barrel Rolling. Students love crawling into a barrel (often a hollow round or hexagonal mat). The teacher and/or classmates can carefully, slowly, push (roll) each other around. This is a vigorous and stimulating experience for all. Haunted House (play fort, club house or whatever). Children love to crawl, roll, or scooter board under a table with sheets hanging down to hide or briefly gather with their peers to plot their next activity. Simply put, hang some sheets from a table, call the game what you wish, and the children will be attracted to it like a magnet. They may problem solve their own ways of being able to locomote themselves to itvariations are endless. |
These are specifically geared toward helping children learn activities and games they may encounter at home so they can better participate with others. Water Play. Warmer months invite use of sprinklers, hoses, water tables, small plastic pools, water balloons, squeeze/squirt bottles, squirt guns, water slides, and more. Even students with several disabilities can usually find a way to pull a trigger on that squirt gun to soak their favorite teacher or peer. These activities also provide excellent opportunities to teach safety, fair play, and respect for others. Learning where to draw the line with this controlled chaos is important. It may be required that all water balloons be thrown at inanimate objects, not people. Relay races with water balloons can work to keep excitement, but channel away the desire to drench others. Instruction in Aquatics. Swimming skills, aquatics safety, and hydrotherapy are invaluable activities for students with even the most severe disabilities. Water is a great equalizergravity is no longer the enemy. A student with minimal strength can move freely in water. Good teaching, buoyancy aides, swim masks, pool toys, and the like can all help to ensure that the aquatics experience will be optimal for all. Strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, coordination, self-esteem, social skills, and games skills are all easily attainable goals when using the magic of water. Sandbox Play. Young children just love the feel of sand. Older children can create sand structures and roadways all day long, if allowed. Often the chore of child clean-up is well worth the enjoyment experienced. Elevated sand tables for students in wheelchairs make this medium more accessible and less difficult to clean-up afterward. Chalk. A colorful bucket of sidewalk chalk can delight children for hours. They love to make hopscotch designs, pictures of people, and often beautiful rainbow scenery. They can paint up the town, yet the next rainfall will clean it all away and offer a new slate for more creativity. Painting. Students love to paint. Whether it is with fingers, sponges, potatoes, or real paint brushes, they love to paint. Water colors and smocks help clean-up time tremendously. Painting with shaving cream is exciting and even easier to clean up. Croquet, Horseshoes, Shuffleboard. These classic games are fun, and all can be played from a sitting position. Thus, little or no modifications are needed with these activities, which should help motivate students to try these activities at home as well. Bowling. This activity can be taught at school, but the end of the semester field trip to a bowling center can serve as a great motivator. Balls can be lighter weight and can be purchased with retractable handles. Bowling ramps can be purchased or easily made. Bowling guide rails can be used for students with visual impairments. With a few modifications, virtually everyone can enjoy this sport. |
Remember, keep the activities and the equipment age appropriate. Adaptations can be major, minor, or absent entirely based on need; but when they are used, think about what is appropriate for students' ages. Even secondary students with elementary level intellectual functioning deserve the dignity of age-appropriate adaptations. Do not underestimate the effectiveness of letting students decide on games to play and/or modifications to make. Within the bounds of safety and reason...let them explore; allow them to benefit from their experiencesthis is learning. Finally, keep activities geared for fun and success. Yes, fun is not a bad thing; it is a wonderful motivator for all. Fun is an important goal to achieve every day. Students have a lot more fun if they are successful with their efforts. Successful programs are motivating because they are fun. Also, when teachers appear to be having a great time, students usually have the best of times. Keep it safe, keep it interesting, and keep it fun! |
Selected Reference Stopka, C.B., & Sullivan, P. (1992). Mainstreaming disabled children into physical education: Adapted equipment ideas to make it happen. Dubuque: Kendall-Hunt. Biographical Information Christine Stopka is an associate professor in the Department of Exercise & Sport Sciences at the University of Florida where she directs the Exercise Therapy Program, as well as the graduate program in Special Physical Education. She is a NSCA certified trainer, a licensed athletic trainer in the State of Florida, and an NACA certified strength and conditioning specialist. Ann Goodman is an adapted physical education teacher with the Sidney Lanier Center which serves state-referred students with mental and multiple disabilities in Gainesville, Florida. Claudia Siders is a special education teacher in the nine-county referral unit for physically impaired students at the Howard Bishop Middle School in Gainesville, Florida. |
