The Best Instructional Method For Inclusive Physical Education Students With Severe Or Multiple Disabilities

In public schools across the United States, students with special needs are placed in self-contained and resource classrooms in an attempt to facilitate effective teaching and learning practices. However, for some students, the physical placement of self-contained classrooms in and of itself is cause for concern and can impede the learning process (Jones & Hensley, 2012). When students feel isolated or stigmatized by their school environment, their confidence and self-determination levels can be negatively impacted, thereby, diminishing academic progress.

In his most recent eligibility determination report, dated, 1-25-18, Zaylan was identified as having an Other Health Impairment Disability (ADHD). His disability adversely affects his ability to complete tasks within allotted time as observed by his impaired to stay focus and on task. Zaylan's inability to stay on task and follow directions is negatively affecting his classroom performance. At times, he is easily to become frustrated ad argumentative. Teacher's observation indicated he often daydreams during instructional time and often look to peers for directions, rather than paying attention in class. When given an assignment to compete by general education teacher, Zaylan will be very apprehensive about completing the assignment.

The data provided shows that an overrepresentation of minority students exists in special education. One of the main reasons for this overrepresentation has to do with the variation of studies on this topic. Differences have been noted in

Students with special needs need deserve the same education general education students are presented with. The philosophy of “ Disability Inclusion” concentrates on creating a safe, loving, and effective learning environment for students who suffer from physical, learning, and behavioral disabilities. When a student with disabilities is placed in the same environment as a non-disabled student, the results show wonderful improvement. When we are able to discover the strength of the student we are able to see just how much the student can improve in an inclusion classroom. Disability Inclusion not only sets a new beginning for an equal education of special education students, but it allows for more interaction with the child, and a more hands-on assessment.

Meeting all of the needs of students today is a challenging task, especially in physical education with students that have special needs and physical limitations. All students today have a right to participate in physical education classes and schools have a responsibility to ensure everyone is given the opportunity (Aiello, 2014). Adaptive Physical Education class offers a great opportunity for those with limitations to be in a safe environment and participate just like the rest of the students (C. Curtis, personal communication, May 6, 2014). Schools must be compliant with a certified adaptive physical education teacher leading a class as they are trained in conducting a class. With proper implementation of an IEP (Individualized Education Program ) and

Growing up in a private school I was not exposed to what the special education system is and what the purpose of this system was. I did have family members who were apart of this special education system but I never looked at them any differently than anybody else. When I graduated, and began my high school education at a public-school I was exposed firsthand of this special education system. In high school I was happy to engage and interact with children in the special education system. Arts and crafts, and board games were activating that many students including myself played with children in the special education system. I have learned that even though these children are put into a different education system than many others they are still human. They are a wide variety of

According to the World Health Organization, a disability is “any restriction or lack (resulting from any impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being” (WHO). Although one may have a disability, they should not be stopped or told they cannot do something due to their disability. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is one of the most common learning disabilities that cause social and behavioral problems (Dew-Hughes, 2003). Every child deserves the same opportunities and experiences, which is why students who have Fragile X syndrome or any other disability should be included in the Physical Education. When including and working with a child who has FXS one should be aware of the history

Brianna is an eighth grader who has a physical disability and a mild intellectual disability. Despite Brianna’s disabilities, several of the classes she attends is general education. As Brianna approaches high school it would benefit her greatly if meets with a physical therapist on a regular basis. The will help Brianna build muscle strength, posture and positioning. When Brianna IEP team meets, she can request to meet with a rehabilitation counselor. The rehabilitation counselor will assist her in preparing for her future. She will gain more confidence as a result of mapping out the goal that she plans on achieving after she completes her four years in high school. A therapeutic recreation specialist should also be assigned to meet with her

As a middle school physical education instructor we are required to teach an inclusion physical education course, which is a combination of regular education students and exceptional education students. In our school there is a serious shortage of space and a lack of accommodations made for the inclusion students, reason being there is simply not enough time for instructing students with special needs and a shortage of equipment on hand. It is especially difficult to accommodate our wheelchair bound students. During instructional time I find myself simply forgetting to work with any exceptional education students because of the large class sizes of regular education students. I feel that I am culturally blinded to the fact that I am unable

Orr (2009) conducted interviews with special education teachers and the attitudes they have seen in their schools since inclusion was implemented in their schools. Orr (2009) chose fifteen teachers, which included fourteen female and one male teacher who agreed to participate in the study so it was a purposive criterion sample. Twelve of the fifteen teachers taught in a suburban area, two in a rural area, and one in an urban area; but they varied in the age they taught and school. Seven of the fifteen teachers taught in a self-contained classroom while the remaining eight taught in a resource room, where they only saw a student for less than an hour or two a day. Another pattern that showed was that many teachers found that they did not receive any classes that focused on differentiation or inclusion while completing their undergraduate work (Orr 2009). These results are important when considering the implementation of inclusion because it may mean that there is a need to reteach teachers. It is important to consider professional development classes district-wide before implementing inclusion in the classroom.

Schools are not welcoming to students with a physical disability when it comes to Phy-Ed class and aren’t promoting them to fully participate. Some say that the

Special education students have severe behavior or emotional issues that can disturb the classroom learning environment for themselves and the non-disabled peers. Disabled students often act out from not feeling accepted, frustration from the difficult material, and their cognitive obstacles. According to the article Time to leave inclusion out, seventy percent of teachers blamed the inclusion of children with special needs for increasingly bad behavior in the classroom.

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S

The formal definition of adaptive physical education from the Adaptive Physical Education National Standards is “Adapted Physical Education is physical education which has been adapted or modified, so that it is as appropriate for the person with a disability as it is for a person without a disability.” The purpose of an adaptive physical education class is to work on the development of physical skills, fundamental motor skills and patterns, throwing, catching, walking, running, etc, skills in aquatics, dance, and individual and group games and sports and to include intramural and lifetime sports. I also believe that it is important for physical education teachers to realize that these students should be treated just like average

The introduction sets up a good beginning for this journal entry. It begins by discussing what the good and bad days look like from the point of view of a child with disabilities describing the good days as days filled with a sense of belonging and skillful participation while the bad days are embedded with social isolation and limited participation (Goodwin & Watkinson, 2000). This article is interesting to me because it says that not a lot of research has been done on students with disabilities and their experience in a physical education setting. It was an interesting point when the article discussed that teachers think that the students view point and their viewpoint is the same. Most students, and especially students with a disability are going to go about things differently and might not see things the same as the instructor. That is why getting to know each student is so important. Learning the way that they think and the way that each student learns best is something that as a future instructor I will strive for because I realize how important it is to gain this knowledge of each student in order for them to reach their full learning potential.