By

Ismael Salazar,   Mireles Elementary School

Play:

Topics:

Physical Activity Participation

Children with disabilities should be given every opportunity to succeed both physically and emotionally. This year, we chose to participate in the “You can do it – we all can” play. Our Adaptive Education students were given the support and encouragement needed to get them both physically active and emotionally supported. For this play, we gave our students with disabilities the opportunities to choose what they wanted to do in hopes to promote both physical participation and a sense of ownership in their physical education. During this implementation, we noticed how our AE students began to get excited about PE and ultimately started participating more throughout the year. It was a beautiful sight to witness how other students began to fully support our students with disabilities, not to mention how our AE students began to work past some personal barriers as well.

How do you plan to make this Play last during the school year and beyond?

We have implemented this play anywhere from 2 to 3 times a week, ensuring continuous participation.

How did you accomplish your goals?

After gaining the trust of our students, it was easy to implement this program. Our students with disabilities were reluctant at first; however, after continuous attempts, students began to give in!

What improvements have you seen at your school?

I have noticed an overwhelming attitude change from our students toward our students with disabilities. There has been more participation, more inclusion and ultimately more understanding of one another.