• ADAPTED PHYSICAL EDUCATION

    Suggestions

    FOR ADAPTING ACTIVITIES

    Although adaptations needed to participate in physical education activities vary from student to student, many general modifications apply to students’ with similar needs. A few suggestions are listed below.

    Rules, Prompts, & Clues

    • Demonstrate / Modify Activity
    • Use peers as partners
    • Modify time limits
    • Oral Prompt
    • Provide more / different space between students
    • Eliminate outs / strike-outs
    • Allow ball to remain stationary
    • Allow batter to sit in chair
    • Place student with disability near teacher

    Equipment

    • Larger / Lighter Bat
    • Scoops for catching
    • Use of velcro
    • Lower goal / target
    • Larger goal / target
    • Mark positions on playing field
    • Varying balls or equipment (size, weight, color, texture)

    Boundary / Playing Field

    • Decrease distance
    • Use well-defined boundaries
    • Adapt play area (smaller, obstacles removed)
    • Simplify patterns

    Actions

    • Change locomotor patterns
    • Modify body positions
    • Modify grasps
    • Reduce number of actions
    • Provide frequent rest periods

    Time

    • Vary the tempo
    • Lengthen or shorten the time
    • Slow the activity pace
    • Provide frequent rest periods

    Communication

    SOME RULES OF THUMB

    For students with disabilities, communication can often be a significant barrier to full inclusion in class. Below are some basic strategies to use when communicating with people with certain categories of disability.

    Vision

    • Orient persons to the room using specifics like “clock clues”
    • Don’t shout
    • Give verbal cues when conversing
    • Identify yourself and other around you
    • Don’t leave without saying you are doing so

    Speech

    • Give your whole attention to the person
    • Allow time for person to finish speaking
    • Ask short questions that require short answers, speak normally
    • Speak expressively, use pen / paper if needed
    • Don’t pretend to understand when you do not

    Mobility

    • Don’t move a person’s assistive device without permission
    • Speak at their eye level, but do not kneel
    • When giving directions, consider distance, terrain, or other obstacles

    Hearing

    • Look at the student and speak clearly, slowly, and expressively, with normal tone
    • Get their full attention
    • Use pen and paper
    • Place yourself near a light source
    • Don’t cover your mouth
    • Talk directly to the person who is deaf or hard or hearing, not the interpreter
    • If you are writing a message, do not talk at the same time

    Cognitive

    • Allow enough time for the individual to learn and master a new task. Repetition is important
    • Give one direction at a time
    • Be patient and allow extra time for the person to put their thoughts together
    • Give exact instructions

     

     Helpful Hints

    ABOUT TEACHING MATERIALS

    Many students with disabilities are not able to read or use handouts or materials that are typically given out. Below is information on a variety of alternate formats that might be used.

    Large Print

    • Double spaced, 1 inch margins on all sides
    • Use a bold serif 16 font for text, non-bold serif font for headings
    • Underline instead of italics
    • Print single sided pages
    • Use non-glare paper (pale yellow or buff mate)

    Visual Aids / Lecture

    • Visual aids should be large with bold fonts using bright, high-contrast color
    • Visuals should always be described
    • Provide copies or outline of presentations ahead of time

    Audio / Electronic

    • Have computer disks available for homework or other assignments to be put on disks
    • Save information as a text file
    • Have audio tapes on hand with tape recorder
    • Always orally describe visuals

    Web & Other Media Access

    • Site features such as alt tags (descriptions that pop up when a mouse rolls over an image), large san-serif fonts (non-decorative fonts like Arial, Veranda, and Tahoma) , clear color contrast, and web software testers such as “Bobby Approved” displayed icons assure better accessibility
    • Have written or visual descriptions of audio information
    • Use captions on videos
    • Consult resources such as the National Center on Accessible Media (http://www.ncam.org) or Web Accessibility in Mind (http://www.webaim.org) for further Information