Do you recommend limiting PE for students with Muscular Dystrophy or would you let them participate as much as possible?
Answer
Honestly, it depends on the Physical Education teacher that you are working with and how much of a relationship you have with them. Do you think that they can incorporate the needs of this student into the PE class? If you have a Physical Education teacher that you feel is knowledgeable about the student's needs, and they are willing to go the extra mile to adapt as needed, then I think it is worth letting them participate as much as possible. Of course they will have to make adaptations from a physical point of view in terms of what activities they do, but they will also need to make adaptations from a psychological point of view. Keeping up with their peers is really beneficial for these children. It has to be an ideal situation where you are are able to work closely with the PE teacher and make sure that they are aware of some of the functional limitations that this particular child has, and how the activities need to be adapted. Depending upon their background, the PE teacher may or may not be familiar with the unique challenges that these children are going to have. If you can be an advocate for the student and have the PE teacher be a full, eager participant who is excited to develop a specific set of activities that the student can do alongside the other children or participate in the same activities with adaptations, I would totally propose that.
Alicia Fernandez-Fernandez, PT, DPT, PhD, CNT
Alicia Fernandez-Fernandez graduated from the University of Oviedo (Spain) with a diploma in physical therapy and
practiced in a variety of settings as a physical therapist in Spain before moving to the US and obtaining her M.S. in Physical Therapy, a post-professional Doctorate in Physical Therapy, and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She has practiced at the South Miami Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) 2003-present. In 2011 she joined Nova Southeastern University, where she is currently an Associate Professor and teaches Pediatrics, Kinesiology, Prosthetics and Orthotics, and Gender Issues. She continues to practice in the NICU on a per diem basis and she is a Certified Neonatal Therapist. Her research interests encompass pediatrics, biomechanics, use of technology in education, and nanotechnology applications in cancer.
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