Human Development, Part 11

Question 1: How can regular physical education activities be adapted to include students with disabilities?

Answer 1: Adapted physical education is an individualized program of developmental activities, exercises, games, rhythms and sports designed to meet the unique physical education needs of individuals with disabilities. Adapted physical education may take place in classes that range from those in regular physical education (i.e., students who are mainstreamed) to those in self contained classrooms. Although an adapted physical education program is individualized, it can be implemented in a group setting. It should be geared to each student's needs, limitations, and abilities. Whenever appropriate, students receiving an adapted physical education program should be included in regular physical education settings. Adapted physical education is an active program of physical activity rather than a sedentary alternative program. It supports the attainment of the benefits of physical activity by meeting the needs of students who might otherwise be relegated to passive experiences associated with physical education. In establishing adapted physical education programs, educators work with parents, students, teachers, administrators, and professionals in various disciplines. Adapted physical education may employ developmental, community-based, or other orientations and may use a variety of teaching styles. It takes place in schools and other agencies responsible for educating individuals.

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Question 2: Define and discuss students with dual exceptionalities.

Answer 2: Gifted students with disabling conditions remain a major group of underserved and under-stimulated youth. The focus on accommodations for their disabilities may preclude the recognition and development of their cognitive abilities. It is not unexpected, then, to find a significant discrepancy between the measured academic potential of these students and their actual performance in the classroom. In order for these children to reach their potential, it is imperative that their intellectual strengths be recognized and nurtured, at the same time as their disability is accommodated appropriately.

Question 3: Discuss the assessment of students with dual exceptionalities and the difficulties that may be encountered.

Answer 3: Identification of giftedness in students who are disabled is problematic. The customary identification methods (i.e., standardized tests and observational checklists) are inadequate without major modification. Standard lists of characteristics of gifted students may be inadequate for unmasking hidden potential in children who have disabilities. Children whose hearing is impaired, for example, cannot respond to oral directions, and they may also lack the vocabulary which reflects the complexity of their thoughts. Children whose speech or language is impaired cannot respond to tests requiring verbal responses. Children whose vision is impaired may be unable to respond to certain performance measures, and although their vocabulary may be quite advanced, they may not understand the full meaning of the words they use (e.g., color words). Children with learning disabilities may use high-level vocabulary in speaking but be unable to express themselves in writing, or vice versa. In addition, limited life experiences due to impaired mobility may artificially lower scores. Because the population of gifted/disabled students is difficult to locate, they are seldom included in standardized test norming groups, adding to the problems of comparison. In addition, gifted children with disabilities often use their intelligence to try to circumvent the disability. This may cause both exceptionalities to appear less extreme; using one to mask the other normalizes both.

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