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Adapted Physical Education: Physical Education for Everyone
- By: Megan McCollom
- September 27th, 2020
(2 Minute Read)
Adapted physical education is not intended solely for students with disabilities. Adapted physical education is physical education that has been adapted specifically for an individual. To teach adapted physical education is to differentiate your instruction. In other content area classes, teachers are expected to differentiate their teaching. All students are expected to learn the same content, but how they are expected to learn that content is up to the teacher.
When teaching a general physical education class, you will have students who excel, students who struggle, and students, often the majority, who fall somewhere in the middle. This is the same for all content areas, that is why there is a need for differentiation; differentiation helps all students learn while being challenged. You are meeting your students where they are at, rather than teaching the same information to everyone and hoping they learn.
Adapted physical education is general physical education with adaptations and modifications to the general education curriculum. There are three areas where you can make adaptations and modifications to your curriculum, games, and activities. Equipment, rules, and the playing area can all be modified and adapted to better suit the needs of your students. By making modifications and adaptations to your equipment, rules, and playing area, you are benefitting all your students. It is equivalent to watching movies and shows with subtitles; people who are hearing impaired need subtitles when watching movies and shows, but it can also benefit people without hearing impairments.
Equipment There are several modifications that can be made to equipment that will benefit everyone participating in games and activities. Using equipment that is large will help students track the equipment. It will have more surface area, which will provide more opportunities for students to contact the equipment. Larger equipment also moves slower, which gives students more time to process the motion of the equipment. This allows them time to figure out how they should interact with the equipment. Light weight equipment also allows for more processing time due to its ability to move slower. Brightly colored equipment allows for contrast between equipment and the playing area. Equipment that is textured has more surface area; this provides more area to grip which allows students to be more successful when catching the object. Objects with sound help students with visual impairments so they know where the equipment is in space, this can also benefit students without visual impairments.
Rules Rules can be modified to benefit all students as well. When playing team games and sports, making a rule that everyone must touch the ball, frisbee, etc. before scoring a goal helps to ensure the inclusion of all students. You can change the number of players on a team; you do not have to have six players on each side for a volleyball game, more or fewer players depending on the safety and space can help students be more included. If you are playing a game of soccer and you have a student who has mobility issues, have all students play the game on a scooter. This levels the playing field and slows the game down. You can also play adapted sports, sit volleyball, beep baseball, or goalball are fun games for everyone.
Playing Area Lastly, changing the playing area can be beneficial for all students as well. Play small-sided games to include more students and have more games going on at the same time. Make sure the boundaries for the playing area are clearly marked. Lower your targets to give everyone a chance to be successful. All these modifications and adaptations can help not only students with disabilities but also students who struggle to be successful in physical education.
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HI Megan! Great article and thank you for writing about Adapted Physical Education! I agree with your comments regarding differentiating instruction when children with disabilities are included in Physical Education however Adapted Physical Education is a service – that children who qualify – based upon sound assessment data – can receive as part of their Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). Kindly share with your readers the SHAPE America FAQ Document on Adapted PE ( https://www.shapeamerica.org/events/upload/Answwering-Frequently-Asked-Questions-About-Adapted-Physical-Education.pdf ) or visit the following web sites to learn more about how Adapted Physical Education is provided across the country.
https://www.wrightslaw.com/info/pe.index.htm https://www.NCPEID.org https://www.APENS.org
Bula Megan I enjoy exploring your ideas on development of adapted Physical Education. I am from Fiji in the South Pacific Lecturing in health and Physical Education but one of the courses am teaching is inclusive movement and performances which is about adaptive physical education. We are new at this and thank you for your information.
Vinaka vaka levu
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Adapted physical education (APE) is specially designed instruction in physical education that has been adapted or modified so that it is as appropriate for the person with a disability as it is for a person without a disability.
Federal law mandates that physical education be provided to students with disabilities and defines physical education as the development of:
34 C.F.R. 300.39(b)(2)Adapted physical educators provide APE instruction and services to students with disabilities who qualify for special education services under the (commonly referred to as [IDEA]; IDEA, 2004). They also provide APE services to students who receive accommodations and services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973). They may also provide assistance to physical educators and athletic coaches making reasonable accommodations in accordance with the ([ADA]; ADA, 1990).
The services provided by an APE teacher include (adapted from Sherrill, 1998):
The APE teacher is a direct service provider, not a related service provider, because physical education for children with disabilities is a federally mandated component of special education services [U.S.C.A. 1402 (25)]. This means that physical education needs to be provided to the student with a disability as part of the special education services that child and family receive. This is contrasted with physical therapy and occupational therapy, which are related services. These therapies are provided to the child with disabilities only if he/she needs them to benefit from instruction.
This section provides answers to questions that define adapted physical education and outline key stakeholder involvement on designing adapted physical education services.
by SHAPE America by North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in Texas by SHAPE America
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International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity
WHAT IS ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION?
Adapted Physical Education is generally viewed as a term that originated in the United States. In 1975, the United States Congress created Public Law 94-142 (today known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]) believed that students with disabilities could benefit from physical education and that physical education services, modified when necessary, should be a part of all students’ educational programs. Although legislators realized that many students with disabilities could participate in general physical education without the need for modifications to the general program, they also realized that some students with disabilities would have difficulty safely and successfully participating in and benefiting from general physical education without modifications or support. Thus, various adaptations would be necessary for these students to truly benefit from physical education. When students with disabilities need extra support to benefit from general physical education or when these students need a special physical education program, they qualify for “specially designed physical education” or adapted physical education
Definition of Adapted Physical Education
Adapted physical education is a sub-discipline of physical education with an emphasis on physical education for students with disabilities. The term generally refers to school-based programs for students ages 3–21; the more global term adapted physical activity refers to programs across the life span, including post-school sport and recreation programs. Various definitions of adapted physical education have been developed over the past 20 years). However, the definition by Dunn & Leitschuh (2010) seems to be most appropriate: “Adapted physical education programs are those that have the same objectives as the regular physical education program, but in which adjustments are made in the regular offerings to meet the needs and abilities of exceptional students” (2010, p. 5). Note that both general and adapted physical education share the same objectives. The major difference between general and adapted physical education is that in the latter, “adjustments” or adaptations are made to the regular offerings to ensure safe, successful, and beneficial participation. Many adaptations can be implemented within the general physical education setting such as asking a peer to provide assistance, modifying equipment and rules of games such as lowering the basketball basket or allowing a child to stand closer to net when serving in volleyball, or modifying instruction such as using pictures or visual cues for children with hearing impairments or extra verbal cues and physical guidance for children with visual impairments.
Goals and objectives of adapted and general physical education might be the same with some minor differences. For example, learning to push a wheelchair or play wheelchair basketball might be a goal for a child with a spinal cord injury, while running and playing regular basketball is a goal for a child with a disability. In other cases a child with a disability might focus on fewer objectives or modified objectives within a domain (e.g., physical fitness) compared to peers without disabilities. For example, maintenance of low levels of health-related physical fitness might be a priority for a student with muscular dystrophy or cystic fibrosis but not for a physically fit student without disabilities who focus on higher levels of fitness training. Finally, children with more severe disabilities might have unique, individually determined objectives that are very different than peers without disabilities. These might include a child with cerebral palsy learning to walk using crutches or a child with a visual impairment learning how to play goal ball.
* Modified from Block, M.E. (2016). A teacher’s guide to adapted physical education (4th Ed.). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
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Adapted physical education is general physical education with adaptations and modifications to the general education curriculum. There are three areas where you can make adaptations and modifications to your curriculum, games, and activities.
National Standards for Adapted Physical Education (APENS) Classroom-ready & teacher-friendly resources you can use right now to help your students on the path to health and physical literacy. Learn more
Adapted physical education (APE) is specially designed instruction in physical education that has been adapted or modified so that it is as appropriate for the person with a disability as it is for a person without a disability.
Definition of Adapted Physical Education. Adapted physical education is a sub-discipline of physical education with an emphasis on physical education for students with disabilities. The term generally refers to school-based programs for students ages 3–21; the more global term adapted physical activity refers to programs across the life span ...
We provide resources for teachers, parents, and students on how to adapt physical education activities for all students. Our website includes a variety of resources, including lesson plans, podcast curriculum, AI tools, equipment recommendations, and stories and inspiration from people with disabilities who are participating in and excelling at ...
The APENS website offers resources on the 15 adapted physical education standards, the national certification exam and study guide, and alternative methods for becoming a nationally certified adapted physical educator (CAPE).
Adapted Physical Education National Standards (APENS) The APENS web site contains resources to learn about the 15 APENS National Standards, the national certification exam and study guide, as well as alternative methods for becoming a nationally Certified Adapted Physical Educator (CAPE).
The APENS website offers resources on the 15 adapted physical education standards, the national certification exam and study guide, and alternative methods for becoming a nationally certified adapted physical educator (CAPE).