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All students are supposed to have physical education during the school day, but for students with physical or intellectual disabilities, traditional activities might not be a good option.
One school district, Miami-Dade County, has
added
activities such as sailing, kayaking and paddle-boarding in an effort to ease participation for students of all abilities.
Jayne Greenberg, district director of physical education and health literacy for the district, said she was inspired to find alternative methods of exercise after placing a student in a wheelchair on the sideline for a soccer game.
“I had really no idea how to get that student involved in the soccer game…And I swore to myself back then that would never happen again,” she said.
The P.E. classes receive funding from community partners including a local state park and Miami sports teams. The Dade Amateur Golf Association’s First Tee program also stepped in, offering golf lessons from experts.
The new activities aim to benefit kids who are at risk for health issues due to lack of physical activity. Approximately 56 million Americans live with a disability, and children in this group are 38 percent more likely to be obese, according to the President’s
Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. Adults with disabilities are active about half as much as adults without disabilities.
The program helps students improve their physical ability as well as their self-esteem, according to Annie Perez, a physical education teacher at American Senior High.
Warm up questions
- Do you like PE? What are some of your favorite parts of the class? What would you like to change about it?
- What are ways that you like to exercise or other healthy behaviors that help you to stay fit?
- What does it mean to have a disability? What are some types of disabilities?
Critical thinking questions
- How important do you think it is to learn how to be healthy in school and how to exercise? Should that be the responsibility of the school? If not in school, where should kids learn about it?
- What impact do you think the adaptive PE at American Senior High has on the self-esteem of students with disabilities?
- Why do you think the school district decided to spend money and resources on making PE accessible for all students?
- Miami is near the water, so water sports are an option. What kind of outdoor activities could your school’s PE program offer?
