Interesting Article #2: Physical Education and Implications for Students with Asperger’s Syndrome

Physical Education and Implications for Students With Asperger's Syndrome

Cynthia G. Simpson | Mark D. Gaus | Mary Jo Garcia Biggs | James Williams, Jr.

Instructional Implications for Physical and Gross Motor Development

Physical educators are well-versed in techniques related to teaching physical education to typically developing children, but they have varying degrees of education and experience instructing children with special needs in general physical education classes. Most children with special needs work closely with an adaptive physical education teacher. Collaborative efforts are essential for ensuring that educators meet the physical development needs of the child. The physical educator should adhere to the goals and objectives of the child's IEP and participate actively in developing the plan. The physical ability of children with AS is often lower than that of their same-aged peers. Children with AS often struggle with both fine and gross motor skills (Groft & Block, 2003). In addition, the physical educator should be aware that focusing on a child's strengths is particularly important when instructing a child with AS in a physical education setting. Other recommendations when addressing motor and physical development include:

• Assess developmental readiness: When determining the sequence for introducing skills, the physical educator should examine previously mastered developmental skills and determine new skills by using a sequential manner and rate that is developmentally predictable (Kurtz, 2008).
• Introduce individual fitness activities: "The tendency for students with autism to do well with repetitive activities can be an opportunity to teach individual fitness activities such as bicycling" (Menear & Smith, 2008, p. 33). Researchers have found that children with AS prefer such activities as running, cycling, and rowing.
• Set goals: To have a successful motor plan, "the child must have a mental picture or idea of what needs to occur, clear vestibular and proprioceptive feedback regarding movement, and the ability to make automatic, reflexive adjustments to moving in time and space" (Kurtz, 2008, p. 76). In addressing gross motor planning, a physical educator may need to help the student set specific personal goals. Although the student's goals may differ from those of her or his peers, the goals should be clear, realistic, and attainable.
• Use repetition and reteaching: Young children with AS are frequently unaware that their skill levels are not equal to those of their peers or that they perform a task incorrectly. In this situation, the student may continue using the same movements, thus not reaching the appropriate level of the skill. Teaching a new skill may require many attempts and considerable practice (Kurtz, 2008). The child may also need a considerable amount of reteaching of skills.
• Use "part practice": When teaching skills that include several component parts, break the parts up and have the student practice them separately. The physical educator should demonstrate skills in this manner, as well (Coker, 2004). For example, a backward chain of part practice when teaching a child the skills involved in bowling would be to first teach the child how to swing her or his arm with the bowling ball in hand before asking the child to attempt the approach used in performing the overall skill. Once the child masters the first skill (the swing), then she or he can begin to practice the approach without using the bowling ball. After the child has addressed both skills, he or she can combine the skills and execute bowling in its entirety.
• Use sensory stimulation to decrease self-stimulation and to help the student remain attentive to the task presented.
• Provide alternative activities (as indicated on the IEP): The physical demands of many activities taught in physical education classes involve physical interactions among classmates (hand holding, spotting for gymnastics, and leaning against one another). Children with AS may exhibit hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity during this time. Accommodations may be necessary, and the child may need an alternative activity if the degree of sensitivity is greatly affecting her or his ability to participate.
• Limit competitive and team sports: "Team sports demand an ability to quickly understand, process and respond to social cues under the pressure of competition and expecting an individual to function or be accepted by peers in this setting is unrealistic" (Pan & Frey, 2006, p. 605).
• Assign peers for teams: Most physical educators select activities geared toward team sports. Physical educators should use caution when determining placement on a team. They should assign teams instead of using peer selection.
• Analyze tasks: Break skills into smaller component parts, thereby enabling a student with AS to focus his or her motor planning in relation to the part rather than to the whole. Sequentially linking, or chaining, the component parts can then help the child acquire proficiency in performing the required skill.
• Vary tasks: Furnish opportunities for students to acquire skills through multiple means. For example, when working with a child to promote better awareness of vestibular input and balancing skills, the physical educator might ask the student to use a variety of equipment that incorporates movement, including swings, slides, balance beams, and rockers (Kurtz, 2008).

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Cynthia G. Simpson (Texas CEC), Associate Professor, Language Literacy and Special Populations; and Mark D. Gaus, Associate Professor of Kinesiology, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. Mary Jo Garcia Biggs, Assistant Professor and Coordinator; On-Line MSW Program, School of Social Work, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, Texas. James Williams, Jr.(Texas CEC), Co-Teacher; Humble Independent School District, Humble, Texas.

Address correspondence to Cynthia G. Simpson, Language Literacy and Special Populations, Sam Houston State University, Box 2119, Huntsville TX 77341 (e-mail: cindysimpson@shsu.edu).

In supplementing the material in this article, the authors conducted an interview with one extraordinary individual living with AS. He shared his experiences with the authors in the hope of influencing systems, particularly for physical educators involved with school-children diagnosed with AS.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Author: Title: Physical Education and Implications for Students With Asperger's Syndrome  Simpson, Cynthia G.; Gaus, Mark D.; Biggs, Mary Jo Garcia; Williams, James Source: Teach Except Child 42 no6 Jl/Ag 2010 p. 48-56