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

PERSONNEL PREPARATION

Knowledgeable adults create the possibility of participation among children and youth both with and without disabilities. Physical activities may be guided by a wide range of support personnel with various levels of training including other students, general and special education teachers, paraprofessionals, adaptive physical education specialists, and related service providers (e.g., occupational therapist or speech language pathologist). Appropriate personnel preparation and professional development to adapt games and activities to various ability and fitness levels are needed in order to increase opportunities for children and youth with disabilities.