[blindkid] PE in middle school

Thu Mar 14 04:14:04 UTC 2013

Hi Julie and all,
I guess I'd like to take this discussion in a bit of a different
direction. I'm wondering if it would be possible to replace your
daughter's PE requirement with some extra one-on-one time with someone
who can help her work on some of these motor issues so she can master
some of these independent living skills like dressing herself and
using keys? (Perhaps an OT, PT, APE instructor or some combination)?
To me, this seems much more critically important than whatever she
might get out of being in a mainstreamed PE class--especially if she
wants to start going to sleepover parties with her girlfriends, or
letting herself into the house when you aren't at home. It seems once
she has learned these skills she will be more ready for a traditional
P.E. program.
More generally, to everyone, I think there is some benefit in having
blind kids do their P.E. requirements in a more individualized fashion
rather than just having someone come into their regular P.E. class to
help them. I'm usually an advocate of including blind students in the
regular curriculum as much as possible, but based on my own
experiences with regular and adapted P.E. I feel that P.E. needs to be
handled a little differently. I'm curious if others have had
experiences similar to mine.
I was in regular P.E. throughout elementary school and sixth grade (in
middle school) and what I remember was either being forced to sit on
the bench, participating with a lot of help from my classmates, or
having an APE teacher practically on top of me aiming throws for me,
catching balls, etc. so I was basically a passive participant. Sports
activities were never adapted, and at times my P.E. teachers were
quite frank in stating that I wasn't expected to perform well. For
example, in sixth grade I was required to dress out, but when we ran
laps the kid who forgot his gym clothes at home was always the one
assigned to be my running guide, because evidently the P.E. teachers
didn't think that guiding me on the track was strenuous enough
exercise to make someone dress out to do it. Anyway you get the idea.
In seventh grade on, my PE requirements were waived due to alleged
"safety concerns" and I was assigned one-on-one classes with an APE
instructor instead. I hated this at first but it turned out to be
great because my teacher was a female bodybuilder who assigned me to
do weight training. I worked with her twice per week throughout the
eighth, ninth, and tenth grades and she taught me how to use all the
common weight machines and free-weights, and trained me to build up to
some fairly competitive lifting routines. Initially I thought it was
unfair to be separated from my peers and to have to come in before
school for bench-press drills, but eventually I gained confidence in
my body and my physical abilities because I was working with someone
who challenged me and held me to high standards instead of just
casting me aside to sit on the bench. In tenth grade the program
changed from on-campus sessions to my walking from school to my local
YMCA to complete the exercise routine (with supervision from the
instructor at first, and then completely independent). It has been
twelve years since that class ended for me, but I still know exactly
how to use all the equipment, and though I have been erratic in my gym
participation, I still enjoy lifting weights and still do some of the
floor exercises that I learned. I also know a few other blind students
who had similar individualized APE programs, some of which also
involved stationary bike, elliptical or treadmill routines as well.
I am pretty sure that the real purpose of required physical education
(for all kids) is to instill good exercise habits and to motivate kids
to become and remain physically active. I question how well that can
happen for a blind student in a mainstreamed class where the blind
student is always at a disadvantage, the last to be chosen for every
team, etc. If others have found ways to make mainstreamed P.E. truly
accessible, I would be very curious to hear how that was done.
However, I suspect that it is quite difficult for regular P.E.
teachers to make their classes fully accessible to a blind student
because many of the modifications, like using beeping balls, have an
effect on how the whole class is run. It's great if you have a P.E.
arrangement where your child is fully included and where he/she can
excel. If that's not happening, though, I think the option of setting
up an individualized adapted P.E. program is one worth considering so
that your child can achieve excellence in the class and learn some
practical, good exercise habits. Of course, this is only going to work
if the adapted P.E. teacher at the school is a quality teacher,
someone with an open mind and someone who believes in blind people. I
also think that sports groups for the blind, and mainstreamed
community sports leagues where the leaders believe in blind people,
are alternative ways to achieve these goals if the P.E. programs at
school are not worthwhile.

What are your thoughts on this?
Arielle

On 3/13/13, Julie Yanez <jyanez112 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Thank you. I'll look into it all.
> On Mar 13, 2013 10:14 AM, "Bernadette Jacobs" <bernienfb75 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Good Afternoon Julie!
>>
>> Don't lose heart Darling!  Firstly, RE: the combination lock, there
>> actually is, (believe it or not), such a thing as Braille Combination
>> Locks.  And they are very easy to work. You can check with Ellen
>> Ringlein over at NFB: 410-659-9314 in the independence market.  You
>> might also check with the folks over at BISM: 410-7372600 and ask to
>> speak with Andy McIver.  Or there's Independent Living Aids.  I don't
>> remember the number offhand.  You can always "goodsearch" it.
>>
>> As for the dressing part, I'm not the expert in that department.  But,
>> hopefully, before long, somebody will have some ideas for you there as
>> well.
>>
>> On 3/12/13, Julie Yanez <jyanez112 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > Hi all,
>> > My daughter will be going into middle school next year and physical
>> > education will be one of the courses. I have a few concerns that I know
>> > will be brought up in our next IEP in a few weeks.
>> > 1. Will she be required to dress into PE clothes?
>> > Right now she has lots of difficulty dressing herself. Pants, socks and
>> > shoes are easy. Its the upper half she can't accomplish yet. She
>> > doesn't
>> > have the muscle structure to do certain things and still had difficulty
>> > with muscle isolation. Her Dr thinks it's just part of being extremely
>> > premee and her being underweight.
>> > I am also NOT ok with someone assisting her to dress out. She will be
>> > in
>> > APE. Is not dressing out a reasonable request for her APE in her IEP?
>> >
>> > If she is required to change in some way such as just shoes, what type
>> > of
>> > lock might be easiest to start off with?  I don't know how to modify a
>> > combination lock for her, and like I said, she hasn't been able to
>> isolate
>> > fingers well. So getting a key in a lock is very very difficult for
>> > her.
>> We
>> > have tried for so long already.
>> >
>> > What are some things I need to know before we start PE in middle school
>> so
>> > I can bring up to her IEP team?
>> >
>> > Thank you all in advance. I need to get this all figured out before the
>> > meeting and before the year starts and we find things out the hard way.
>> > ~Julie.
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > blindkid mailing list
>> > blindkid at nfbnet.org
>> > http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
>> > To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> > blindkid:
>> >
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/bernienfb75%40gmail.com
>> >
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> blindkid mailing list
>> blindkid at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> blindkid:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/jyanez112%40gmail.com
>>
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindkid:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/arielle71%40gmail.com
>