Adapted Physical Activity for Special Education Needs

Adapted Physical Activity for Students with Special Education Needs

Vignesh Balasubramanian, Manager – Customer Experience, EduSports

INTRODUCTION

This paper discusses the need for Adapted Physical Activity (APA) for Students with Special Education Needs (SEN). SEN arises from many factors, but in this paper, we are concerned with those arising from intellectual disabilities.

APA for SEN have the same objectives as a regular PE program, but different in the fact that it is modified in a number of ways to suit the needs of the recipients. It encompasses physical activities designed to correct, habilitate and remediate.

APA for SEN would be effective and benefit the learners under the below setting

• Better Teacher : Learner ratio
• Customized activities cognizant of various learning needs
• Inclusion of students with SEN in activities along with other students

Though APA is a program, it is influenced by the setting in which it is implemented. Students with SEN should be included in integrated settings whenever appropriate. APA can be implemented in group setting and should be geared to each student’s needs. Since more students with SEN enter mainstream classes, it is imperative for the PE teachers to take note of the need for customized teaching methods.

CASE STUDY OF BENEFITS OF ADAPTED ACTIVITIES

EduSports, India’s largest school sports company has been partnering with Lalaji Memorial Omega International School, Chennai (LMOIS) for the past 3 years to run structured physical education program in their school. In the academic year of 2013-14, EduSports ran a separate APA program for the students with SEN studying in LMOIS.

LMOIS provided the list of documented difficulties faced by the children and these children were under the purview of this intervention program. The difficulties among others were

• Autism
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Weak muscle tone
• Difficulty crossing midline
• Difficulty in hand-eye coordination
• Difficulty in understanding spatial awareness
• Slow learners

Analysing the number of students with each of these documented difficulties, the EduSports team conducted the APA program round the year for this group. The activities used innovative props to focus on specific skills to be improved. Few are mentioned below.

• Improving Sequential memory through colour sequence activity and to reproduce the sequence of the colours observed
• Improving muscle tone through egg roll over the gym mat using maximum number of muscles through the activity
• Identifying the midline by running zigzag through cones and to process quick changes in direction while running
• Improving Spatial awareness through crab-walk activity using training arches
• Enhancing hand eye coordination using ball or bean bag juggling activity
• Structured walking / running activities to help loco motor skills and balancing skills

Vital Numbers of the program:

Total number of students impacted through the program: 64 (Grades 2 to 4)

Total number of sessions conducted through the year: 150

Total number of EduSports staff employed in the program: 2

Minimum Teacher : Learning ratio every session: 2:15

Assessment Data:

Data is recorded from the 2 EduSports Health Assessments conducted for all students of school. The Pre-Assessment was taken at the beginning of the year before the APA program, while the Post-Assessment was taken at the end of the year after the APA program.

Charts indicate the “Fitness Quotient” obtained from the Health Assessments which records 5 parameters – Aerobic Capacity, Anaerobic Capacity, Upper Body Strength, Lower Body Strength and Flexibility.

Note : Data represented below includes only Grades 2, 3 and 4 since they were under the purview of the APA program. Comparison against school averages also includes only these grades.

Chart 1 – Individual Improvement of Students with SEN under the APA program        

69 % of the students with SEN demonstrated increased level of fitness after the program

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Chart 2 – Fitness Improvement Comparison

Students with SEN demonstrated a 16.1% increase of fitness compared to the overall school fitness increase of 4.7%

Chart 3 – Grade wise Improvement for Students with SEN