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E D U C A T I O N A L R E
C O M M E N D A T I O N S
What should your
physical educator do?
Children who have problems moving or coordinating
movement may be eligible for specialized programming called adapted
physical education.
Make sure your child’s assessment includes a motor
assessment of any or all of the following: play skills, motor skills,
development, and fitness. Younger children tend to be integrated in general
classes without any regard for how the child will fit in to a general
curriculum. At the Individualized education meeting and pre assessment
meeting make sure you have information on your child’s motor performance
and the curriculum for the general class. Some physical education programs
focus a lot on basic movements and rhythms that lend themselves to diverse
learners. Other programs focus a lot on competition and learning sport
skills. You are an expert on your child and can provide information on your
child’s experiences with physical activities.
For children with severe disabilities and limitations in
movement options, adapted physical education programming should focus on
developing skills that can be used at home and into adulthood. Some
activities may be fun for your child but have little value outside of the
physical education setting. Some suggested activities that are useful at
home and in the community into adulthood include swimming, walking, leisure
activities such as archery or bowling may also fit your family’s physical
activity options. Communicate with the adapted physical educator what types
of things you do at home and see if she can incorporate these into your
child’s program.
Functional Behavior assessment is a process where
educators and behavior specialists work together to find out the function
of a child’s poor behavior. This usually involves the following steps: 1)
collect historical or background info, 2) Identify the behavior, 3) Observe
the child, 3) Generate a hypothesis for why the behavior is occurring, 4)
test the hypothesis and determine the function of the behavior. There are
many sources on line for this info and your school district personnel
should be familiar with this process.
What if my child
is integrated in the regular program?
Makes sure any accommodations such as a classroom
assistant follow the child to the physical education setting. This is
particularly important if the child has behavior needs. Physical educators
may lack experience in behavior management and also teach in a very open
and stimulating environment. If a child is impulsive in the classroom, he
may also be impulsive in the gymnasium.
Ask to observe your child in physical education to see
if she is actually participating or simply standing around learning to look
active when in fact she is not. Physical education is unique in comparison
to other curricular areas since all can see the child’s performance. In
math class only the teacher and child know the child’s performance in most
situations, in physical education there is no “hiding”. Poor performance
affects each child differently. Some try harder, others “shutdown”. Know
how your child is responding and don’t wait for the teacher to tell you of
problems, look for yourself.
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