Welcome to this month's adapted physical education section. A number of links, resources, and articles have been included to help promote the theme of this month's pelinks4u theme - National Physical Education and Sports.

In the first section, I've included information on a great spring-time activity to get your students outdoors and ready for summer - cycling. The Web sites and manufacturers listed are only a handful of what is available.

The next section spotlights numerous programs from the Special Olympics. The Summer World Games are being held in Shanghai, China, this year; this is only the second time in the history of the Special Olympics that the games have been held outside of the U.S.

The next section contains information on summer camps. The Discover Camp Web site has many useful tips and ideas for parents, teachers, etc. who are considering sending their child/student to summer camp for the first time.

The final section includes summaries of some recent articles on adapted physical education. Read "Inclusion in Physical Education: Changing the Culture," by April Tripp, Terry Rizzo, and Linda Webbert for an interesting review of the many forms of exclusion and how physical educators can combat these.

Finally, "A Multipurpose Fitness Playground for Individuals with Autism: Ideas for Design and Use," by Kristi Sayers Menear, Shannon C. Smith, and Shane Lanier has some interesting information on how schools can work to improve outdoor play areas for students with disabilities.

Enjoy the beautiful spring weather!

Leon Letson
Guest Adapted PE Editor

A great activity to help your students make the most of the increasingly beautiful spring weather is cycling. There are numerous programs and companies involved in making this a viable hobby/sport for persons with disabilities. Below are a few options.

The National Disability Sports Alliance (NDSA) offers access to various levels of cycling competitions. In addition, the NDSA provides competition opportunities in sports ranging from bowling and basketball to power lifting and equestrian sports. Volunteer and donation opportunities are also available for parents and teachers interested in getting involved.

Adaptive Adventures - Adaptive Adventures is an organization working to advance the quality of life of people with disabilities through year-round outdoor sports and recreation. Headquartered in Evergreen, Colorado, Adaptive Adventures identifies, promotes, and provides progressive sports and recreation opportunities for children and adults of all ages, with physical disabilities. Check out their list of adventures!

Just Two Bikes, Inc. is a company that was established in 1993 to provide those with disability equipment for exercising their enthusiasm for cycling. The founder, Jim Muellner, developed "The Sociable" cycle to allow two people to ride side-by-side on the same bicycle, despite individual ability.

Freedom Ryder, by Brike International Ltd., developed the first hand-steer bicycle in the 1980s. Since then, its cycles have been ridden across the U.S. and other parts of the world, as well as in the Iron Man Triathlon in Hawaii.

This section is dedicated to the review of an article relevant to adapted physical education entitled, "A Multipurpose Fitness Playground for Individuals with Autism: Ideas for Design and Use," by Kristi Sayers Menear, et al (Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Nov./Dec. 2006).

A Multipurpose Fitness Playground for Individuals with Autism: Ideas for Design and Use - Kristi Sayers Menear, et al

Sayers Menear and her colleagues embarked on a five-phase research effort to create a multipurpose fitness playground that could be used by students with autism for unstructured free play, structured physical education lessons, and fitness activities. Furthermore, the authors focused on making the skills acquired by these students during their use of the multipurpose fitness playground directly transferable to community settings outside of the playground.

This program was made possible by PEP grant funding, and a careful review of the criteria addressed with this project may be valuable for future physical educators interested in similar projects.

First, the authors reviewed professional literature related to playgrounds; designs focused on safety proved most successful. Second, they worked to identify the specific needs of individuals with autism that could be met with the multipurpose fitness playground; these ranged from the need for visually defined boundaries to co-active assistance from teachers and/or paraeducators.

Third, Sayers Menear and her colleagues sought connections between their program's goals and curricula; the multipurpose fitness playground needed to not only facilitate physical education goals, such as increased flexibility, strength, etc., it also needed to resemble other K-12 playground areas in order to accommodate the transference of skills learned at the playground to other community settings.

Fourth, the authors researched multiple playground equipment manufacturers to determine a best-fit for their program's goals. This not only included examining what these manufacturers currently produced, but also engaging them in proactive dialogues about autism, and the needs of individuals with this condition, to create new playground equipment opportunities. Three designs were eventually proposed.

In the final phase, Sayers Menear and her colleagues surveyed school staff and administrator responses to the three proposed designs, paying particular attention to comments centering on budget, program goals, and student needs.

The final design of the multipurpose fitness playground consisted of: a fitness course, a basketball court, swings, a tether-ball area, a funnel-ball area, a typical big playground unity (i.e. slides, tubes, etc.) and a walking track around the perimeter of the design. In addition, the playground offered a variety of options for self-play, one-to-one instruction, and group play.

Learning new sports and fitness skills are perhaps the two most obvious benefits of summer camp for students. However, the social aspect of students interacting on the individual and group levels also helps to develop many skills that can be put to use in other settings.

For adapted physical education teachers and professionals, summer camps provide an excellent venue for networking and learning about new disability sport activities. Below are some resources for learning more about summer camps. The Discover Camp Web site is particularly valuable for parents or caretakers considering sending their children to summer camp for the first time.

Below is a quick introduction to a few summer camp opportunities/organizations for students/children with disabilities. A more complete list can be found at the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.

Adaptive Adventures offers creative sports and recreation opportunities for youth by providing access to the outdoors, and helping families work toward inclusion in their local communities. Some sports and recreation opportunities include adaptive cycling, water-skiing, paddling, alpine and cross-country skiing, and numerous youth programs.

For the month of May, Adaptive Adventures is hosting a Spina Bifida 5k and Handcycle Clinic at Washington Park in Denver, CO (May 13), a Lake Shore Paddle in Wilmette, IL (May 19), and a Training Ride with Team Courage in Boulder, CO (May 21).

CampResource.com offers links to summer camp opportunities for children with disabilities ranging from Aspergers Syndrome to Cerebral Palsy.

C.A.M.P (Children's Association for Maximum Potential) provides overnight camping experiences to children with special needs who are not eligible for other camps due to the severity of the child's condition, along with their siblings.

Discover Camp is designed to assist parents/caretakers of children with disabilities who are selecting a camp for their child for the first time, Discover Camp is full of numerous suggestions, personal accounts, and other resources. Below is a quick check list for parents/caretakers considering sending their children to summer camp for the first time.

	Ask the camp if they have any marketing materials, such as brochures or videos, that they can send to you in advance of selecting a camp.
	Ask the camp if they offer events such as tours, an open house, or "new family" weekend retreats to assist in your selection process.
	Read the frequently asked questions section of the Discover Camp Web site, and ask the director questions you feel are appropriate to your child's specific needs and recreational preferences.
	Complete the registration and application process clearly and completely.
	Make sure the camp sends you some form of a confirmation or acceptance packet detailing the information and preparation you will need to make in advance of bringing your child to camp.
	Enjoy the process! Preparing your child for camp should be fun and exciting!

The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The event will mark the first time the World Summer Games will be held in Asia, and only the second time they will be held outside the United States. In addition to some 7,000 athletes, Special Olympics expects the 2007 World Summer Games to draw 40,000 volunteers, 3,500 event officials, and thousands of families, volunteers, spectators, and journalists from every continent.

Listed below are a number of programs provided by the Special Olympics to promote physical activity and competitive achievement for people with disabilities.

Young Athletes is an innovative sports play program for children with intellectual disabilities, designed to introduce them to the world of sports prior to Special Olympics eligibility at age eight. Designed to strengthen physical development and self-esteem for children ages two through seven, Young Athletes focuses on building skills for future sports participation and socialization.

There are two levels of the program. Level 1 focuses on activities that help develop motor tracking and hand-eye coordination. Level 2 focuses on applying skills learned in Level 1 to real sports settings, particularly those offered through the Special Olympics. Here is an article about the Young Athletes program.

Schools & Youth is focused on increasing the participation of youth without intellectual disabilities in Special Olympics activities through school-based Special Olympics Programs and activities, such as Special Olympics Get Into It, a free service-learning curriculum celebrating diversity. Get curriculum downloads from the SO Get Into It Web site.

Athlete Leadership Programs allows athletes to explore opportunities for participation in roles previously considered "non-traditional." Through ALPs, athletes serve on Boards of Directors (BODs) or local organizing committees. Athletes excel as spokespersons, team captains, coaches and officials. Contained in the ALP Web site are numerous informative links on training for this program as well as "how-to" guides on becoming members of BODs, coaches, officials, volunteers, and spokespersons.

The Powerful Impact of Stress and Calm on Health, Behavior and Learning - As high stress increases in classrooms for both teachers and students, a specialist in this field offers timely and helpful suggestions for coping.

You Can Teach Self Control - How a third grade teacher in Texas teaches her students an essential life and learning skill.

A Classroom Where All Students Are Learning -
A dedicated third grade teacher describes her inclusion classroom and the specific ways she helps all her students to learn and work together.

Strategies for Winning Over the Impossible Class -
A thirty-three year teaching veteran shares her effective methods to help students feel respected, loved and successful.

This section is dedicated to the review of an article relevant to adapted physical education entitled, "Inclusion in Physical Education: Changing the Culture," by April Tripp, et al (Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, Feb. 2007).

Inclusion in Physical Education: Changing the Culture - April Tripp, et al

Tripp and her colleagues analyze the concept of inclusion in physical education and the ramifications of its negative counterpart - exclusion. There are two types of exclusion that occur in physical education: complete and functional. Complete exclusion is the physical segregation of individuals, such as students with disabilities, from their peers. The authors address the common negative message associated with this type of exclusion, which is "inclusion is something to be earned rather than a basic human right."

Functional exclusion, the more subtle of the two, involves allowing an individual to be involved with an activity, but at a level different or inferior to their peers. Examples include, being an encouraging spectator, keeping score, cleaning/organizing equipment, playing with a paraeducator rather than a student, or helping the teacher with a task. In terms of negative impact, the authors consider the severity of both forms of exclusion equal.

Inclusion, on the other hand, is an attitude, value, and belief system that is committed to creating meaningful learning opportunities for all students, disabled or not, and establishing a community-orientated environment where all students possess an undeniable right to belong. When asked how they felt about being excluded, some common responses from students included: angry, resentful, confused, unwanted, ashamed, and so on. When asked about their feelings when being included, however, the same students responded: proud, secure, special, nurtured, etc.

Changing the culture of inclusion can be a formidable task for physical educators. Furthermore, pressures by administration to adhere to the status quo only increase the level of difficulty. Tripp and her colleagues are adamant about the general futility of implementing paraeducators as a means of inclusion. In addition, they believe adaptive efforts, in terms of activities, equipment, time, etc., only serve to undermine efforts of inclusion by highlighting differences in student abilities, etc.

To effectively change the culture of inclusion, Tripp and her colleagues outline five socioeducational factors to be addressed: 1) program administration, 2) evaluation, 3) instruction and curriculum, 4) long-term planning, and 5) storytelling.

Program Administration (i.e. principal, etc.) is perhaps the most crucial factor of the five listed here, due to the influence these individuals possess over resource allocation, staffing, structures, information flow, and operating processes that define codes of conduct for the school environment. How the administration interacts, both formally and informally, with the disabled/handicapped populations of their schools sets the tone for how the rest of the staff are expected to interact. The administrator who relocates the disabled student population to marginalized areas of the school, such as auxiliary classrooms away from the main student areas, has sent a clear message to the other staff about their feelings toward inclusion of this group.

Evaluation within an inclusion-orientated setting regards inclusion as a social process, and must be conceptualized as such. Measuring progress and/or development must occur at both the individual and group levels. Furthermore, it is vital that every member of the class be given a usable definition of inclusion, as well as steps they can take to insure its presence in every activity or lesson.

Instruction and Curriculum, as it pertains to inclusive physical education, must first address the issue of class size. Tripp and her colleagues believe large, bloated classes undermine any efforts to integrate inclusive philosophies into the physical education experience. Through the use of Ecological Task Analytic Teaching (ETAT), physical educators can increase the level of inclusion in their classes.

ETAT relies on a system of delegated authority. Within each PE class, opportunities exist for one-to-one instruction, partner work or small groups, teaching stations, and large groups. Instructional staff within this framework can include peer tutors and paraprofessionals to assist with instruction, while the physical educator monitors the interactive relationship between students, instructors, and the environment.

Long-Term Planning requires that physical educators determine the potential, in terms of physical activity, of each of their students and then work to offer them opportunities to achieve this potential. Tripp and her colleagues recommend a four-part model for identifying the individual differences of their students.

First, personal internal characteristics, such as physical and mental abilities, talents, etc., must be considered. Second, review external circumstances, such as inherited socioeconomic status, cultural issues, etc. Third, interindividual variation, such as motivation and competitiveness, should be evaluated. Finally, determining each student's definition of "physically educated" and how they value this is important.

Story Telling, in simple terms, refers to the open exchange of information, suggestions, and criticisms of the process of creating an inclusive setting for physical education. Tripp and her colleagues stress the importance of creating an environment where all invested in this process can safely voice both their pleasure and concern. This type of constructive dialogue only serves to strengthen the impact of inclusion as a teaching model.

One Response to Special Needs in the Classroom: Utilizing College Students as an Untapped Resource - University of Washington Pipeline Program Director explains her outreach program that offers undergraduate students both educational and service opportunities to tutor students in public schools.

Learning Through Meaningful Work - " Every school has a small core of students whose basic needs for attention, nurturing and competence cannot be met by the large group approach required in most public school classrooms." B. J. Wise and the faculty at Silver Ridge Elementary School met this challenge with a creative approach that rewards children for competence and initiative. Best of all, the Meaningful Work program includes everyone in school, and builds positive mentoring and learning relationships. It even generates income that helps support the program. The Meaningful Work program has been adopted by other schools and districts.