Advocating for and Providing Quality Adaptive Physical Education

: Ideally, as put across by the Disability & Human Rights guide, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) does not give a detailed description of disability but rather gives a wide range of features that intend describe disability. The truth is, despite being incapacitated in a certain way, people living with disabilities should be given the same opportunities as those without. Our separate literature analysis discovered that different efforts had been put in place to present equal opportunities for people living with disabilities. One of these efforts is adaptive physical education. As its name suggests, adaptive physical education is a physical education that has been adapted to create equal opportunities for persons with disabilities as it is for people without disabilities. To this effect, this paper and its entirety will focus on presenting the different themes observed from the different pieces of literature separately


About the Authors Colin G. Pennington (PhD) is an Assistant
Professor of Kinesiology at Tarleton State University where he works with Exercise and Sport Study majors, and carries out research on physical education teacher effectiveness and other pedogogical and healthrelated applications of the kinesiology sub-disciplines. His interests and research focus on teacher socialization, physical education teacher training, character development programs within physical education and sport, and health and wellness.

Introduction: Thematic Consistencies
Numerous publications revealed during a literature review expose different themes suggesting that adaptive physical education empowers people with disabilities to seek opportunities -just like people without disabilities [1][2][3][4]. For instance, in a personal tale, Princess Ayin's story is one of the inspiring stories of how adaptive physical education has exposed her to great opportunities in fostering her athletic career. Through adaptive physical education, Princess has realized that her disability cannot stop her from achieving her goals, and so far, she has won different medals as well as appeared in different national live shows [2]. Kurtis Jon Siu's story also brings about the idea that adaptive physical education empowers people with disabilities to seek opportunities, just as in the case of people without disabilities [5].

Family
One of the themes that can be traced back in the pieces of literature is the theme of family. According to Hansen & Weaver, Special Olympics were founded back in Chicago in the year 1968 [6]. The reason behind establishing Special Olympics was to spread awareness of intellectual disabilities. Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who is the founder of Special Olympics, was inspired by her sister, who had an intellectual disability. Her inspiration was due to seeing how people treated her [6]. Eunice was concerned by how her sister was being left out of activities, something that affected her both emotionally and physically. Since 1968, Special Olympics has grown, and as of now, the initiative supports more than 6 million athletes. Kurtis is one of the people that has benefited from Special Olympics as the program inspired him to pursue his goals [6]. The truth is that Special Olympics has helped people with intellectual disabilities join the community by creating many sports-related and socially inclusive programs that bring people together. Through inclusion, the program teaches people living with disabilities alongside their families and friends how to adjust as well as learn what it means to be intellectually disabled and that having these disabilities doesn't make them any different from those without.

Isolation
These pieces of literature also bring about the theme of isolation. That is, the lack of adaptive physical education brought about a feeling of isolation among those living with disabilities. According to Coreen, before the adoption of adaptive physical education, students with disabilities used to be schooled in different classrooms [7]. She adds that interactions with other students were minimal. Similarly, Hassan concurs, stating that people with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, were viewed as a subsection filled with problems and were considered not capable of participating in sporting activities [8]. Clearly, it's quite apparent that adaptive physical education liberated people living with disabilities as it created awareness regarding how people with disabilities aren't different from those without. Additionally, adaptive physical education led to the emergence of Special Olympics, which eliminated the feeling of isolation by amplifying the need for acceptance regarding people living with disabilities at all spheres of life.

Equity
Another observable theme that can be retrieved from these pieces of literature is equity. Coreen [7] argues that with people of color, women among other minority groups being given equal opportunities to participate in sporting events, people with disabilities have also received the same reception. From [8] contentions, it's quite apparent that one of the aspects that have increased the visibility of people living with disabilities is adaptive physical education, which has largely created a sense of equity. According to Bocu [9], many countries around the world have started to integrate as well as create programs that allow people with disabilities to participate in different recreational activities. Through these initiatives, the different countries have managed to get rid of the preconceptions relating to people with disabilities by offering them opportunities to participate in sports at a young age. Additionally, through these initiatives, governments have created conducive and welcoming environments for people with disabilities, thus doing away with traditional beliefs and perceptions of people living with disabilities [7]. Through these efforts, society, and the world around people with disabilities have managed to create a sense of equity that fosters equal opportunities for everyone [10][11][12][13][14][15].

Inclusion
Additionally, it is evident in these pieces of literature is the theme of inclusion. Coreen states that the concern for people with disabilities to be involved in sports led to the formation of different institutions such as the International Paralympic Committee [7]. The very first Paralympic game was hosted in Rome in 1960. As Reismuller and Parry [16] state, the idea of Paralympic games dates way back to the 1940s as it was founded to empower people living with disabilities. Generally, Paralympics are sports that involve people with different physical disabilities, while on the other hand, Special Olympics includes those individuals with intellectual disabilities. Both of these sporting events have created a sense of inclusivity as people living with disabilities feel accepted as well as appreciated within society. Despite these sporting events being different, they are aimed at fostering inclusion. They bring communities together as well as people with disabilities across the world. Additionally, these sporting events can also be seen as a source of adaptive physical education as they teach; they create awareness across the world that we are all one people thus improving the confidence and self-belief among people with disabilities. According to Marques & Alves [17], different people living with disabilities have been able to benefit from both the Paralympics and Special Olympics. For instance, Tatyana McFadden is one of the renounced athletes worldwide who was born with a physical disability. Fortunately, McFadden has made a name for herself through adaptive physical education and programs such as Paralympics and Special Olympics. Again, through the formulation and implementation of different laws, such as the Maryland Disability Law Center Act of 1973, inclusion has been a major theme in the fight for fairness and equality for people living with disabilities [17]. The act forbids the prevention of individuals living with disabilities from taking part in government funded events [17]. These efforts assume an integral role in fostering inclusion in

Consistency
The other theme that is highly evident from these pieces of literature is the theme of consistency. The creation of events such as the Paralympics and Special Olympics created a sense of consistency in that; people living with disabilities need to continuously engage themselves in training, identification, selection, and engagement [6]. This not only fosters a sense of belonging but also initiates adaptive physical education making more people around the world aware that people living with disabilities are not any different. Further, these programs have created an environment that is safe for people living with disabilities through consistency [22]. Additionally, the creation of different Special Olympics and Paralympic events has helped create a sense of consistency such that these sports are held at different intervals annually, thus recognizing people living with disabilities [23]. Again, this also creates a sense of anticipation among people as they expect these events to occur in different parts of the world as they are not restricted to a specific region or country. Additionally, through consistency, countries have been able to adopt these sporting events within their jurisdictions, which has contributed a lot to the acceptance of people living with disabilities within society. Along these lines, consistency is also evident in the creation of action groups and institutions that aim to create a much safer environment for people living with disabilities.

Technology
Lastly, the other theme that is highly evident in these pieces of literature is the theme of technology [24]. Different programs and initiatives have been adopted to improve the lives of people living with disabilities. Coreen [7] gives an example of a program in China called the 'Sunshine Homes' that has been created with the aim of meeting the requirements of people living with disabilities. Another technology that has been improvised, as expressed by Coreen [7], is related to gaming that aims to engage people with disabilities with gaming just like people without disabilities. Additionally, technology has played a crucial aspect in fostering adaptive physical education as people are more informed today than in decades before [25]. For instance, technology has played a crucial role in Michael Jacques's writing career despite living with autism. As a result, today, Jacques's works can be accessed by anyone across the world [26].

Conclusion
Conclusively, programs such as Paralympics and Special Olympics as well as initiatives such as adaptive physical education, have played a crucial role in the acceptance and appreciation of people living with disabilities within the society. These efforts have created safe and conducive environments for people living with disabilities.