Special Education Administration and Adapted Physical Education: What You Need to Know

Scott McNamara and Suzanna Dillon, Texas Women’s University

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Scott McNamara, ABD & Suzanna Rocco Dillon, PhD

Texas Woman’s University

Special Education Administrators And Adapted Physical Education: What You Need to Know

Objectives of Presentation

• Attendees will be able to compare and contrast

certifications and qualifications for adapted physical

education (APE) teachers

• Attendees will be able to identify at least three APE

assessments

• Attendees will be able to identify common APE transition

processes and how to apply them to their

What is APE?

• APE is developing, implementing and monitoring “specially

designed physical education” (PE) for students with disabilities

• APE is a part of special education and is defined and required by

federal and state laws

• Student needs should be based on assessment and focus on

state and national standards

• APE provides the knowledge and skills to be successful with:

– Fitness, motor skills and health skills

– Sports, recreational and leisure activities

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What’s happening here in Texas?

• Based on a survey of Texas Special Education Administrators (N = 630), there is a need for 2 additional APE teachers per district in TX (Young & Silliman-French, 2013).

• This lack of APE teachers hired as well as a limited understanding of APE by school personnel (Gray, 2016) create barriers to APE service delivery for students with disabilities in Texas.

• In Texas special educators and related service personnel can teach APE, however it is strongly recommended to hire APE specialists.

Additional Barriers to APE Service Delivery

• Administration preparation programs may include limited

content and training on APE.

• As a result, special education administrators may:

– Have a limited understanding of how APE is

addressed in special education law (i.e., IDEA)

– Place lesser importance on APE service delivery

when compared to other services

– Assign personnel without knowledge of APE to

provide APE services

Benefits of APE Services

• Students who are physically active have

better academic scores and fewer

behavioral incidents (CDC, 2010).

• Students who are active have greater social

success and positive relations with peers.

• Students who are active have demonstrated

a decrease inappropriate and stereotypic

behaviors.

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Who Is Qualified to Provide APE Services?

• While the federal law requires appropriate APE services provided

by credentialed educator, each state sets its criteria for who can

provide APE

• In Texas, APE may be provided by:

– instructional personnel (e.g., APE teachers, PE teachers,

special education teachers) or

– those related service personnel who have the necessary

skills*

(19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1131)

Who Is Qualified to Provide APE Services?

• To ensure appropriate service delivery, it is recommended that

districts hire APE teachers who:

– Have taken advanced coursework in APE,

– Have completed a graduate degree in APE, and/or

– Are nationally certified adapted physical educators (CAPEs)

through the APE National Standards Exam (APENS) process (National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities, 2008;

SHAPE America, 2015.

Competencies of Qualified APE Teachers

• Develop and implement high

quality, specially designed PE

programs

• Develop and monitor specially

designed goals and objectives

• Communicate and work

collaboratively with other IEP

team members and parents

• Assess students for APE

eligibility, placement, and

programming purposes

• Assist students with accessing

community-based physical

activity programs

• Effectively advocate for

students with disabilities

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Special Education Administrators’ Role

• Advocate for hiring appropriately credential teachers (e.g., CAPEs)

• Provide or support professional development focused on APE

– Conferences and resources available

• Texas Woman’s University APE Conference

• National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals

with Disabilities (NCPEID)

• Council for Exceptional Children (CEC and TX CEC)

• Establish an incentive program for PE or Special Education

teachers to enroll in APE university courses (>12 credits), prepare

for, and pass the APENS

Check for

Understanding

Purpose of Assessment in APE

• Establish a Present Level of Performance

• Identify Strengths and Needs

• Program Development

• Placement within the Least Restrictive Environment

• Measure Achievement

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Assessment Options

Physical Fitness

• Fitnessgram Physical Fitness Test

• Brockport Physical Fitness Test

Motor Development

• Test of Gross Motor Development-2

(TGMD-2) and forthcoming TGMD-3

• Peabody Developmental Motor

Skills-2 (PDMS-2)

Motor Performance

• Adapted Physical Education

Assessment Scale

• Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of

Motor Proficiency

Aquatics

• Red Cross Skill Progression

• Aquatics Skills Checklist

Assessment in Texas

• Surveyed APE teachers in Texas

(N=76) preferred to use the

TGMD-2 test.

• Reasons why APE teachers like

TGMD are:

– shorter administration time

– limited equipment and space

needs

– familiarity

– standardization criteria

Johnson, Kim, Bittner, & Silliman-French (In Review).

Assessment % used by

Texas APE

teachers

TGMD-2 82

FITNESSGRAM 81

Competency Test for APE 67

Motor Activities Training

Program

54

Adapted Physical

Education Assessment

Scale

44

Test of Gross Motor Development-3

• Used for screening, program development, and goal monitoring

for students with and without disabilities (aged 3-10 yrs)

• Assesses 13 motor skills, divided into 2 categories:

– Locomotor

– Ball Skills

• Criterion and Norm-referenced test

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Brockport Physical Fitness Test

• Used to assess the health-related fitness of students

(aged 10-17 yrs) with disabilities

• Aligns well with the FITNESSGRAM Physical Fitness Test

• Typically 4 to 6 test items selected from 27 possibilities

based on a personalized approach

• Test scores compared with criterion-referenced standards

based on gender, age, and disability (disability-specific

norms for selected populations)

Authentic Assessments

Texas Region 10’s APE department has developed a variety of

authentic and ecological assessment tools for APE teachers; they

assess areas such as:

• Functional Motor Skills

• Visual Impairment APE Skills

• Lifetime Leisure Skills

• Participation in APE Inventory

Other Factors to Consider

in Determining Unique Need

• Behavior/Communication

• Need for safe participation

• Medical condition or disability

• Potential for intramural and interscholastic athletic experiences

• Nutrition

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Special Education Administrators’ Role

• Ensure APE teachers use accurate and appropriate assessments

to guide their teaching and monitor progress

• Develop/identify evaluation tools to monitor APE programs

• Monitor inclusive practices when APE services are provided

within general PE settings with the The Lieberman–Brian

Inclusion Rating Scale for PE or other appropriate tools such as

those from SHAPE America (formerly NASPE).

Transition in APE

The main components of the transition program are:

• Post Secondary Education

• Adult Services

• Independent Living

• Employment

• Community Participation

Transition in APE Continued

Post-Secondary

Education

Integrated

Employment

Independent

Living

Community

Participation

• Accessing fitness and recreational facilities on

campus

• Health impacts days missed on job due to

illness and ability to perform job duties

• Achieve and maintain fitness levels needed

for life-skills (e.g., self-care, travel, mobility)

• Avoiding isolation through having the

knowledge and skills needed to participate in

inclusive community experiences

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How APE Contributes to Transition Plans

• Assessment of skills and interests

• Collaborates with IEP team members in

development of goals

• Aide in designing personal curriculum

• Ensuring meaningful and relevant participation in

PE and community-based physical activity

Dear Colleague Letter to

Dr. Luke Kelly

• Students with disabilities can receive

APE services, even when their

typically developing peers no longer

receive PE services

• APE, when appropriate, should be

apart of the transition process

Consider how APE services benefit Cody's transition…

Cody is a sophomore male with Down syndrome. Cody and his

parents want him to work at a grocery store when he finishes high

school. Cody would ideally be handling boxes, pushing carts, and

bagging people’s groceries. Cody is very social and is able to sort

objects at a high level. However, Cody is easily fatigued after about

5 to 6 minutes of physical activity and has difficulty standing on his

feet for prolonged periods of time.

How could an APE specialist help with Cody's transition plan?

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Review of the Objectives

oWhat are the certifications and qualifications

appropriate for APE teachers in Texas?

oWhat are 3 assessments appropriate for APE?

oHow should APE teachers and services be included

in the transition process?

Audience Questions

Thank you for being

engaged in our

presentation!

Do you have any

questions?

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lifestyle for all students. Teaching Exceptional Children, 47 (3), 163.

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