Chapter 6

1. Chapter 6 Teaching Children with Special Needs

2. Key Points • Public Law 94-142 (1975) and Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 1990 guaranteed all children (3-22 years) a free appropriate education, including Physical Education, in the least restrictive environment • Inclusion philosophy • Recognizes children’s desire to learn • Identifies abilities and nurtures child’s strengths and weaknesses • Requires teachers to be willing to accept all children and their differences and be dedicated to enabling success for all children

3. Key Points • Inclusive physical education programs have a goal of meeting the needs of every child through provision of a developmentally sound and sequential program. • Multi-disciplinary Team: • Comprises personnel involved in education of child with special needs • Determines appropriate placement and curriculum • As part of the M-Team, physical education teachers provide input regarding how identified disability will affect performance in the existing program of physical education

4. Key Points • Individualized Education Program (IEP): • Is developed for each child identified as one with special needs • Identifies short and long term goals needed for meaningful participation in • Physical education • Physical activity at recess • After-school play/recreation opportunities

5. Key Points • Physical Education for children with disabilities: • Focuses on development of motor skills to enable successful recreational participation • Involves designing instruction and modifying both teaching and curriculum to meets needs of student • Modifications often required for children with visual and hearing impairments, physical disabilities, health-related impairments, emotional/behavior disorders and mental delays/disorders.

6. Key Points • Inclusion will be successful when Physical Education teachers are: • Willing to accept all children and their differences • Dedicated to helping children learn and experience success • Willing to individualize activities for all children, those with and without special needs

7. Practical Application • Task #1: What are some of the special needs of a child with this disability? How might you meet these needs in your physical education class? • Task #2: Give three examples of tasks that you might be doing with a class of fourth-graders and describe how you would modify the tasks to meet the needs of one student in the class with your identified disability.