Take a look around the adapted site for a variety of different issues. This month we look at some upcoming conference events from NCPAD. Also, take the opportunity to look at the great books, ideas and adaptations listed in the following links. Don't miss out on the opportunity to promote your adapted program. Take the time to build a newsletter within your classroom or even within your entire program. Let the people around you know what goes on in the daily lives of your students.

Lloyd Gage
PELINKS Graduate Assistant

Council for Children With Behavioral Disorders Conference: "Meeting the Diverse Needs of Children/Youth With Learning and Behavioral Problems: Strategies, Supports, and Services that Work"

Date(s): October 2, 2003 to October 4, 2003
Location: St. Louis, MO
Contact: Dr.Lyndal M. Bullock (940) 565-3583 bullock@tac.coe.unt.edu
Conference URL: www.unt.edu/behavioraldisorders (scroll to CCBD)

Council for Exceptional Children/Division for Early Childhood Education Annual Conference on Young Children With Special Needs and Their Families (19th)

Date(s): October 10, 2003 to October 14, 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Contact: Bonnie Pfaff (410) 269 6801 pfaff@gomeeting.com

CCBD International Conference on Meeting the Diverse Needs of Children/Youth with Learning and Behavioral Problems: Strategies, Supports, and Services That Work

Building the Rehabilitation Future: Partnerships, Participation, and Paradigms

Dates: October 2-5, 2003
Location: Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee
Contact: Toll free 1-888-258-4295
local (703) 836-0850
fax (703) 836-0848
TDD (703) 836-0849
email: info@nationalrehab.org

iCan! Disability Summit

Dates: Oct. 8-10, 2003
Location: Charleston, S.C.
URL: www.ican.com

For more information on these and other conferences being held this month and the rest of the year, check out the NCPAD website.

By Ingrid Berg

Introduction

Often tucked away in institutions, children with disabilities at one time grew, learned and played in segregated environments (Fiorini, Stanton & Reid, 1996). A few children with disabilities are still institutionalized (approximately 2%) (Hogan et al., as cited in Mudrick, 2002) and some children with disabilities attend separate schools from their nondisabled peers (Modell, 1997) despite the success of the inclusion movement and legal mandates such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA] (1990). Ninety-five percent of students with disabilities do attend classes with their nondisabled peers, according to a 1998 U.S. Department of Education report (Winnick, 2000). It seems clear that children with disabilities have been elevated in society, are able to claim a place as members of their families, communities (Fiorini, Stanton & Reid, 1996) and educational settings.

Despite this positive progression in the acceptance and inclusion of children with disabilities in American society, children with disabilities are still sometimes considered second-class citizens when it comes to opportunities to maintain their health through exercise and community recreation programs. Within the pediatric population, children with disabilities are often not encouraged to lead active lives, while recommendations for exercise and physical activity are given to their nondisabled siblings and peers (Wilson, 2002).

Much is at stake when children with disabilities are not encouraged to be physically active. It is thought that physical activity patterns established in childhood form a foundation for lifelong physical activity (Ayyangar, 2002) and, therefore, subsequent health. As reviewed by Wilson (2002), studies have shown that children with disabilities who exercise can increase strength, bone mineral density, vital capacity and mobility. Those gains are critical when it comes to the prevention or attenuation of secondary conditions or disabilities. As noted by Steele et al. (1996), children with physical disabilities are at great risk for secondary conditions such as heart disease, stroke, respiratory problems and emotional disorders. To offset the secondary conditions associated with disability, children with disabilities need outlets to be active.

Finding appropriate exercise or sport programs for children with disabilities is easier than ever, especially with the advocacy of groups such as the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP), but the number of choices does not mirror the breadth and range of opportunities afforded to nondisabled children. This paper will explore program considerations for the implementation of sport programs for children with disabilities. However, any approach to incorporating the traditional sports model, or elements of that model, should be approached with trepidation. The professional (and even college) sports world is on many days a chauvinistic, hyper-competitive one riddled with violence, drugs and vulgar words and gestures (Nelson, 1994). None of these aspects of professional or college sports should be emulated or perpetuated in the creation of sporting opportunities for any child, disabled or nondisabled. Nonetheless, a well-thought out, carefully designed school-based or community recreational sports program that takes into consideration the stressors and barriers faced by families who raise children with disabilities, can pay great dividends in the overall health and well-being of children with a variety of disabilities.

For the rest of this article by Ingrid Berg please click here

This article was found at the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability

Have a ton of great physical activity ideas, but don't know how to implement them for you adapted class? Look no further, check out these ideas from PE Central.