Social, Physical and Psychological Needs of Special Groups During Sports and Exercise
Social, Physical and Psychological Needs of Special Groups During Sports and Exercise
Focusing on School Children who are Visually Impaired
In order for children to develop into physically active, healthy young adults they need to be firstly introduced to sport and secondly educated in sport from an early age. However this is not such an easy concept when working with young children who are physically or mentally disabled, due to sport, physical education and provision frequently being aimed at able bodied participants (Thomas &Smith 2008). Therefore when instructing individuals who have a disability it is imperative to know what their individual needs and abilities are in order to account for every aspect in relation to what is important, as well as to be aware of any undetected requirement; whether they possess a physical or mental disability. Knowing the specific physical, social and psychological needs will enhance learning. The needs of individuals may change slightly depending on their age, gender, disability and circumstance. Young children often have many physical, social and psychological needs whilst participating in sport and exercise. These needs become exceptionally important to adhere to when the children in question suffer from visual impairments, this is because vision is the primary sensory input for children and adults, and is the starting point for the majority of human learning (Progund & Fazzi, 2002). Visual Impairment is defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Educations Act (IDEA) as ‘Visual impairment, including blindness, means impairment in vision that, even when corrected, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and Blindness’ (Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, 2006.cited in Winnick, 2010). Visual Impairment, as with many other disabilities, has varying degrees. For educational purposes children with visual impairments are
Focusing on School Children who are Visually Impaired
In order for children to develop into physically active, healthy young adults they need to be firstly introduced to sport and secondly educated in sport from an early age. However this is not such an easy concept when working with young children who are physically or mentally disabled, due to sport, physical education and provision frequently being aimed at able bodied participants (Thomas &Smith 2008). Therefore when instructing individuals who have a disability it is imperative to know what their individual needs and abilities are in order to account for every aspect in relation to what is important, as well as to be aware of any undetected requirement; whether they possess a physical or mental disability. Knowing the specific physical, social and psychological needs will enhance learning. The needs of individuals may change slightly depending on their age, gender, disability and circumstance. Young children often have many physical, social and psychological needs whilst participating in sport and exercise. These needs become exceptionally important to adhere to when the children in question suffer from visual impairments, this is because vision is the primary sensory input for children and adults, and is the starting point for the majority of human learning (Progund & Fazzi, 2002). Visual Impairment is defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Educations Act (IDEA) as ‘Visual impairment, including blindness, means impairment in vision that, even when corrected, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and Blindness’ (Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, 2006.cited in Winnick, 2010). Visual Impairment, as with many other disabilities, has varying degrees. For educational purposes children with visual impairments are