Creating Equal Opportunities for Children and Youth with Disabilities to Participate in Physical Education and Extracurricular Activities

MANAGEMENT OF BEHAVIOR

Athletics in the school setting involve complex interactions in settings less controlled than the typical academic classroom. Team play and sportsmanship cannot be taught except through participation. Effective PE and athletics require a teacher or coach with strong behavior management skills. Certain disabilities are associated with characteristics that may interfere with the student's ability to act consistently like a good team player or otherwise conform to the social expectations of particular athletic activities. A few of these characteristics include poor impulse control, limited social awareness, and emotional lability.⁶ School personnel should have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to address the interactional components of disabilities within the context of competition. Children and youth with and without disabilities can participate in PE and athletics more fully when social, emotional, and behavioral interactions are directly instructed, monitored, and remediated.