My local team had the pleasure of hosting Boccia Nationals last August in Chicago. Boccia is a sport for anyone! Boccia is played in a similar fashion to bocce ball, with a few differences. Athletes play indoors with hand-sewn balls. It is played recreationally by all, and competitively as a paraolympic sport by individuals with Cerebral Palsy, spinal cord injuries, and other disabilities such as Muscular Dystrophy and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (to name a few).

This sport brings athletes together to compete both in mental and physical toughness and endurance. To play well you need to be constantly thinking two moves ahead, and hoping your opponent isn't. Who knows? If Chicago wins the bid for the 2016 Olympics/Paralympics, we will be bringing the world here to play boccia.

Are you looking for a sport for some of your students who are in wheelchairs and desire to play recreation sports? Boccia may be just what you, and they, are looking for! Check out the website at http://www.usaboccia.com/. Hit "contact us" for further information.

The Paralympics is for individuals with physical disabilities, and provides an opportunity for participants to play boccia. The Special Olympics is for individuals with cognitive disabilities, and it provides an opportunity to play the similar sport of bocce. Bocce is played outdoors on grass fields, and is a fast growing sport for Special Olympic athletes. Check it out at the Special Olympics website.

November is the month of conferences. This year I am making a departure from my 26 years of traditionally presenting at and/or attending my state convention (IAHPERD). Let me give a shout out to all those in Illinois who painstakingly put on an excellent convention year after year.

This year I decided to go and listen to several national speakers present a variety of topics in Adapted Physical Activity (APA); thus, I will be traveling to Washington DC to attend the 2007 World Congress and Expo on Disabilities from November 15-17. It is not too late for you to arrange to be a part of this amazing expo and APA track. Check out the website for registration and details.

The Adapted Physical Activity track is held in conjunction with Palaestra. Palaestra is a leading magazine on recreation, physical education, and sports for persons with disabilities. Whatever you are doing in November, make it a time of learning something new so you can help your students reach their full potential.

Kathy Brinker
Adapted PE Editor

Think sensory! Start by hanging streamers from a basketball hoop. Next, set a fan on the low or medium speed and place it near your students. It will be just like a "blustery day" when the student are pushed in their wheelchair, or walk through the streamers. You can also do the same activity while students are lying or sitting on scooters.

Another student can push or pull the student on the scooter underneath a mini crawl tunnel, or a tunnel you create with mats. Streamers or scarves hanging with wind blowing are sure to create a sensory experience! These ideas and more can be found Flag House.

More sensory ideas:

	If you live in part of the country where you have fall leaves, bring in some dry leaves and place them on a tarp. Or, you can make "pretend leaves" by crumpling up some soft tissue paper if you don't have a plentiful supply of leaves.
	Place the tarp on top of a gym mat.
	Have the students do log rolls through the leaves. Remember to watch for allergic reactions, and that some sweeping up may be necessary, but it is worth the fun!

One more…

	Place leaf cut outs on a parachute.
	Then say, "The weather forecast calls for a gentle breeze, then a strong wind, and then a rainy blustery day!"
	Have fun putting all the leaves back on the chute.
	Throw in some counting of leaves as you are putting them back on the chute, and you have a cross-curricular experience.

Lieberman, Lauren J. (2007). Paraeducator in Physical Education - A Training Guide to Roles and Responsibilities. Champaign, IL. Human Kinetics.

This book hit the shelves just in time for the start of the school year. Whether you are a paraeducator, physical educator, or adapted physical educator, this text contains a wealth of useful information.

Before this book, little detail had been written about the paraeducator's role and responsibilities in a physical education setting. This text highlights safety issues to consider, collaboration techniques, making the paraeducator truly part of the learning team, and other considerations specific to the physical education setting. Sample job descriptions and expectations are clearly defined.

Additionally, a CD is included with PowerPoint presentations for training and collaboration efforts. I can also foresee myself applying some of the strategies with peer tutors. This book is a must for anyone working with paraeducators!

Adapted Physical Education Teacher -
Adapted Physical Education Teachers conduct diversified programs of developmental activities, games, sports and rhythms suited to the needs, interests, capacities, and limitations of students with disabilities. Find out more.

Fall is a great time to "twink" those class management techniques.

Did you know that many students with Autism have hypersensitivity to certain sounds (often whistles)? This information and more can be found at the Autism Research Institute. If this is the case in your class, try other forms to get your student's attention.

One suggestion, useful at the elementary level, is singing songs (i.e. sing "circle"... draw out the word for 3 seconds to direct them to the center circle). Stopping music between stations is another great way to get students to rotate. Are your students spread out across the field? Try starting a wave with both hands until all the students stop and do the wave. They will then be ready for a hand signal from you as to what they are to do next.

Another nonverbal communication technique is to pull a "flag" (yes, just like the NFL does!) out of your pocket. You can then move the flag in a variety of ways to signify different management activities, such as putting the equipment away. We often talk too much in physical education; simple management techniques, where some students begin to follow the direction and then others follow quickly, work well. Whatever your management style, I suggest you practice these routines so that you and your students are clear on how they will be used.

For some students (particularly students with autism or cognitive disabilities), transitioning to a new activity, or leaving your class for the day, is not a pleasant thing. They are having fun (yeah for you!) and they don't want to do something else. If this is the case, some behaviors you could see include lying on the floor, hitting someone else, running away, refusal to put equipment away, refusal to move to new activity etc. Not wanting to transition is often the reason for the behavior. You might want to try these transitioning activities to help with classroom management activities.

	Draw a picture schedule for the student with a disability. This practice allows them to forecast what is coming next in your lesson.
	List the daily activities on a white board for students that are readers.
	Say to the class, "We have 2 minutes left," and then "We have 1 minute left" to give them the idea that you are now moving to a new activity or are done for the day. Forecasting is not just for weather; try it in physical education… and the climate might change for the better!

THANK YOU TAG - Fall is a great time to teach the art of "being thankful." The objective of this game is cardiovascular endurance, dodging, chasing, fleeing, and "caring." The equipment needed is 1 or 2 pool noodles and 2 pennies. The description is stated below.

	1 or 2 taggers with pool noodles (depending on your space) and 2 "pilgrims" with pinnies (coats).
	Taggers run in the general space to catch students (turkeys) by tagging them with the pool noodle.
	Once tagged, the turkey is frozen and must stop, and then puts their hands on their head to indicate they are tagged and need to be unfrozen.
	Pilgrims run around to the frozen turkeys and ask, "What are you thankful for?"
	After the turkey gives a caring response, they are back in the game.

Adaptations for students with disabilities:

	If the student is in a wheelchair, tape multiple pool noodles (you could even use pool connectors) to their chair. The student can tag other players as they go by them.
	If you have a student who is slower in movement patterns and is getting tagged a lot, let them be "partially frozen." After being tagged 3 times they become "completely frozen," and then must stop and wait for a pilgrim to unfreeze them.

APPLE PICKING - This is a wonderful game for early childhood or kindergarten aged children. The objective is cardiovascular endurance, sorting, working on clean up skills, and following directions. The equipment need is a variety of primary colored balls. The description is stated below.

	Have your students sit in 4 groups (green, red, yellow and orange or whatever colored balls you have).
	Talk about how apples come in lots of different colors, and perhaps show them real apples or photographs of apples.
	Explain that we are going "apple picking."
	Tell them that when you say"go," they are to go pick up 1 apple at a time and bring it back to the bucket with the color that you indicated. Put construction paper labels on the bucket that matches the colored apple you specify.
	Do you want an endless game that keeps your students moving? Explain to your students that when the buckets get very full they will tip over. Guess what you do? Tip the buckets over, and the game will keep moving.

Adaptations for students with disabilities:

Some students with balance issues will bend over, and then fall when they no longer can see the horizon. Place some apples up high for those students "who need to reach the high ones." This technique helps for students in walkers and wheelchairs as well.

...TRADITIONAL FALL SPORTS MODIFICATIONS

Fall is the time of year when units of instruction usually include football and soccer activities. Here are a few suggestions for modifications of these traditional sports.

FOOTBALL - For individuals who use power or manual wheelchairs:

	Look for hard surface playground areas adjoining your outside fields for students in wheelchairs to participate on. Have teams rotate fields so that everyone has an opportunity to play on the hard surface area.
	"Center" is a great position for individuals with mobility issues. For a student with tight muscle tone, have them push the ball off their tray (from the wheelchair) or off a cone near them to start the play (a version of the "hike"). They can also kick a cone that has the football balanced on top of it to start the play.
	Have the student run a short route (like a down and in), and when the wheelchair is sideways instruct the quarterback to throw to the side of the chair for a complete pass. (Safety tips: balls that catch beneath power chairs might tip the chair. Additionally, you might want to use a nerf ball for this maneuver).

For students who can reach out, however have difficulty catching on the run:

	Have the student run button hooks (run a straight path, turn around, and wait for the ball).
	A possible adaptation could be that a completed pass is when the student touches the ball with at least 1 hand. Have all the teammates come up with rules to help include the student. It is a great time to talk about what constitutes "fair play" (you will be amazed at what the students will come up with to make it "fair").

Do you include referees in you games?

Use Sqwhistles® from Sportime. These whistles only require light hand pressure to activate, and as the Sportime web site states, "hygienically eliminates the 'Dizzy Blower' syndrome." These whistles can also be safely passed among users without concern for spreading oral bacteria. A light squeeze on the Sqwhistle’s® bulb causes the embedded whistle to produce a sound similar to a referee’s whistle’s pitch and volume.

Another idea is having the student drop a flag to stop play.

SOCCER - The latest, greatest, and fastest growing sport for individuals in wheelchairs is Power Soccer. Check out the Bay area's team website to find a great resource on how power soccer is played. If you need equipment for indoor wheelchair soccer, consider Flaghouse AAASP equipment.

For individual with mobility issues or who move slower due to cognitive disabilities:

	When practicing on hard surfaces, deflate a ball so that it does not roll as quickly. Try to use the same ball that others are using, or one that looks similar. You will have to play around with the level of inflation to get it "just right," so keep those pumps handy!
	If you are working on drills, consider using a soccer trainer (a net that goes around the ball with a bungee string) to keep the ball in a desired location. You can find soccer trainers at any sporting goods store.
	Carve out an area of the field with lines or other markings. When the soccer ball goes in this area, the student (unguarded) is given the time they need to kick the ball.
	Do you have students who have difficulty getting the dreaded pinnies on? Instruct the student to pick a pinnie buddy for a couple of months. Check back with the student, and (if you think it's a realistic goal) let them know that one of your goals is for them to be able to put it on by themselves by the end of _________.
	Speaking of Pinnies…use a pinnie to mark the goal that the opposing team will be scoring on. An example would be: if you have red and blue teams, drape a blue pinnie on the red goal and a red pinnie on the blue goal. This will help those students who get turned around in game play to remember which direction they need to travel to score a goal.
	Does one of your students have difficulty running up and down the field, or is it not even a possibility for them? Have them take all of the sideline throw- ins.
	You might want to consider changing the game. Play 4-goal soccer with multiple balls and goals, and multiple mini games occurring at the same time. Place 4 medium soccer goals in the corners of a square playing field. This game can be played indoors or outdoors. The object of the game is to score as many goals as you can on one of the other three teams. One way to keep track of the score is to start with 10 bean bags at each goal. If a team scores a goal, they grab a bean bag and take it back to their goal. Each team needs to make sure they keep their goalie and defenders protecting their goal, or soon all their bean bags will be gone! This game is a lot more fun than traditional soccer and provides many more chances for everyone to get involved.
	Did you know that individuals with Cerebral Palsy play soccer in the Paralympics? The Last Comic Standing's (on NBC) most recent winner was Josh Blue. Josh started playing soccer in his backyard at age 10, and later played on the Evergreen State College team in Olympia, WA. In 2001 Josh joined the U.S. Paralympics' Soccer National Team, and then represented team USA in the 2004 Paralympics which were held in Greece. Currently, Josh is a member of the 2007 National Team. Check out more on his biography and other inspirational stories.
	Do you want to learn more about elite level soccer for individuals with CP? If so, check out this site.