ionals in this field is to eliminate the existing separation between the theoretical and practical aspects of their work” (Yabe, Kusano and Nakata, 1995: i). The adapted physical education teacher must not only understand a host of physical education factors, but very often they must also have an understanding of other disciplines crucial for success, like human development, moral philosophy, disability law, psychology, behaviorism, sociology and others. One of the biggest problems of teaching physical education to handicapped students is that teachers all too often do not understand the special needs of their students.
Students with visual impairment, as an example of one disability, are often prevented from fully participating in physical education in mainstream environments. All too often they are used to keep score, root for the players or are even given other classes to attend while physical education occurs. Yet, it is crucial that psychomotor development of these individuals is a part of their overall educational development. For example, when catching a ball is the activity being conducted, one example of adapted physical education would be equipping the ball with a bell so that the visually impaired can also have a chance to develop their physical skills. Adapted physical education programs “offer students with diverse limitations the opportunity to participate in physical activity courses, developed to fit their specific needs and goals. Students who are disabled have the opportunity to achieve success within the psychomotor domain through the assistance and support of the adapted physical education faculty and staff” (Adapted 1).
One of the factors that makes teaching adapted physical education as complex and challenging as it is comes from the great diversity of the individual limitations of the students. Different limitations demand different needs not only in a psychomotor sense but also from a behav...