Unit4 -Physical Education andSports for CWSN(Children withSpecial Needs- Divyang) CBSE 12

Unit4 -Physical Education andSports for CWSN(Children withSpecial Needs- Divyang)

1. Organizations promotingDisabilitySports(SpecialOlympics;Paralympis;Deaflympics)

2. Concept ofClassification andDivisioningin Sports.

3. Concept ofInclusion insports, itsneed, andImplementation;

4. Advantagesof PhysicalActivities forchildren withspecialneeds.

5. Strategies tomakePhysicalActivitiesassessablefor childrenwith specialneeds

Competitive games for individuals with special needs gained widespread acceptance after World War II to assist injured veterans and civilians. Over time, these efforts evolved into major international movements. Here are the three primary organizations promoting disability sports today:

1. Paralympics

The term Paralympics is derived from the Greek word para (beside or alongside) and Olympic, indicating that these games run parallel to the Olympic Games.

Origin: The movement began when Dr. Ludwig Guttmann organized the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1948 for wheelchair athletes. The first official Paralympic Games took place in Rome in 1960.
Governing Body: It is governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which was formed on September 22, 1989, in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Vision & Anthem: The vision of the IPC is "To enable Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to inspire and excite the world". Its official anthem is "Hymne de l’Avenir" (Anthem of the Future).
Eligible Impairments: The IPC has established 10 disability categories for competition, which include physical impairments (such as impaired muscle power, limb deficiency, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, and athetosis), visual impairment, and intellectual disability.

2. Special Olympics

The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions across 172 countries.

Origin: It was founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who started "Camp Shriver" in 1962 to provide athletic opportunities for children with special needs. This led to the first International Special Olympics Games in Chicago in July 1968.
Mission: To provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in various Olympic-type sports for people with intellectual disabilities, offering them opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, and experience joy.
Oath & Logo: The athlete's oath is "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt". The logo is based on a sculpture titled "Joy and Happiness to All the Children of the World," reflecting growth and confidence.
Programs & Eligibility: Participants must be at least 8 years old and identified as having intellectual disabilities or cognitive delays. The organization runs unique inclusive programs like the Young Athlete Programme, the Unified Sports Programme (pairing athletes with and without intellectual disabilities), and the Healthy Athletes Programme (offering health screenings).

3. Deaflympics

The Deaflympics caters to elite athletes with hearing impairments and is distinguished by being organized and run exclusively by members of the community it serves.

Origin: The games were first held in Paris in 1924 and were originally known as the International Silent Games. They are held every four years (with a brief pause during WWII).
Governing Body: The main governing body is the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD), formerly known as CISS. Only people with hearing impairments are eligible to serve on its board and executive bodies.
Logo: Designed in 2003, the logo is a powerful symbol of the international deaf sports community. It features hand shapes for "ok," "good," and "great" overlapping in a circle to represent the sign for "united". The center represents the iris of the eye, highlighting that deaf people rely on their eyes to communicate. The four colors used (red, blue, yellow, green) represent the four regional confederations of the world.

2. Concept of Classification and Divisioning in Sports

The concepts of classification and divisioning are grouping processes used in disability sports to provide an even and fair competition for athletes. The general goal is to minimize the effect of variables like age, gender, weight, or specific abilities on sports performance, ensuring that winning is determined by skill, fitness, power, endurance, and mental focus rather than the degree of impairment.

Concept of Classification (Paralympics): Classification is the grouping process associated with the Paralympics and para-athletes. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) uses this process to determine who is eligible to compete and to group sportspeople equitably.

Eligibility: An athlete must have a permanent impairment that limits their ability to participate in an activity. The IPC recognizes ten eligible impairment types, including physical impairments (like impaired muscle power or limb deficiency), visual impairments, and intellectual disabilities.
The Process: Classification usually involves three to four steps. It begins with a medical assessment, followed by a functional assessment where the athlete is observed during training and then in actual competition.

Concept of Divisioning (Special Olympics): Divisioning is a performance-based grouping process specifically associated with the Special Olympics. It ensures that athletes of all ability levels are encouraged to participate and compete against others of similar ability.

The Process: Athletes are categorized in a three-step process: first by Age, then by Gender, and finally by their Ability.
Ability Assessment: An athlete's or team's ability is determined by prior competition scores, seeding rounds, or a committee's assessment of their skill level.
Maximum Effort Rule: To ensure true fairness, athletes are expected to give their maximum effort during the divisioning/preliminary process. Failing to participate honestly violates the spirit of competition and can result in disqualification.

3. Concept of Inclusion in Sports, its Need, and Implementation

Concept of Inclusion: Inclusion is a broad concept that implies integrating everyone into education and sports without being judgmental about their abilities, appearance, or economic conditions. In an inclusive model, Children with Special Needs (CWSN) spend most or all of their time learning and playing alongside students without special needs.

The Need for Inclusion: Inclusive education and sports provide training for real-life situations by allowing all students to interact and work collectively. The key benefits include:

Builds Self-Esteem: CWSN find common ground with other students, which builds confidence and reduces the stigma associated with learning or physical challenges.
Improves Social and Communication Skills: CWSN learn better social relations through observation and imitation by being part of a regular classroom and sports environment.
Enhances Sensitivity and Understanding: Students without disabilities learn to understand, appreciate, and empathize with the strengths and weaknesses of their peers with special needs, leading to lifelong friendships.
Creates a Sense of Belonging: All children feel accepted and develop a sense of belonging to their community, preparing them for life.
Enhances Performance: Inclusive environments set higher expectations, stretching each individual to achieve their optimal academic and physical performance.

Implementation of Inclusion in India: To effectively implement inclusive education and sports, institutions must take several strategic measures:

Teacher Training: Equipping teachers, especially in rural areas, with appropriate training and in-service workshops to effectively teach and coach CWSN in inclusive settings.
Curriculum and Goal Adjustment: Encouraging a flexible curriculum and developing specific education goals based on each child's abilities, meaning children can learn together even if they are striving for different personal goals.
Focusing on Capabilities: It is vital for a student's self-esteem that they are recognized for their talents and what they can do, rather than being looked at with sympathy for what they cannot do.
Accessible Infrastructure and Materials: Schools must be designed to accommodate CWSN, which includes structural adjustments (like ramps), transport facilities, assistive devices (like Braille textbooks or audio materials), and therapeutic services.
Parental and Community Involvement: Involving parents as partners in the decision-making process and fostering good relationships between families of students with and without disabilities to create a supportive environment.

4. Advantages of Physical Activities for Children with Special Needs (CWSN)

Regular physical activity provides significant physical, emotional, and social advantages for children with special needs. The key benefits include:

Physical benefits: Regular involvement in physical education helps develop gross and fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, flexibility, muscle strength, endurance, and cardiovascular efficiency.
Mode of Recreation and Fun: It provides a platform for CWSN to overcome isolation, engage in social interactions, make friends, and experience recreation.
Improved Emotional Health: Including physical activity in a routine is proven to decrease rates of depression and improve general mental health and wellbeing.
Channelizing Surplus Energy: It helps in appropriately directing the hyperactivity found in children with disabilities like ADHD into constructive behaviour and cognitive benefits.
Psychological benefits: Participation reduces anxiety and stress while improving self-esteem, social awareness, and self-confidence, which helps empower their lives.
Healthy lifestyle: Because CWSN are more likely to be sedentary and overweight, sports participation teaches them essential steps to leading an active and healthy lifestyle.
Behavioural Benefits: Sports teach structured rules, self-regulation, decision-making, teamwork, and problem-solving, which lead to cognitive improvements and an increased attention span that can transfer into classroom settings.
Increased Independence: The increased physical strength and energy derived from regular exercise allow persons with disabilities to perform daily life skills and tasks with more freedom and less assistance.

5. Strategies to Make Physical Activities Accessible for CWSN

To optimize participation and ensure that physical activities are accessible, several well-devised strategies must be implemented:

Communication: Advance information about the activity should be communicated clearly. Instructions must be provided in simple words and sentences, using a low tone, and giving only one instruction at a time. Teachers should utilize verbal, visual, and peer teaching, alongside visuals, social stories, or communication boards if necessary.
Space: The activity space should be highly approachable and disturbance-free from noise, extreme temperatures, and audiences. It is best to start indoors with clearly demarcated boundaries (starting, finishing, and sitting areas), and provide specific relaxing areas for children who may need them (such as those with autism).
Equipment: A lack of appropriate equipment discourages participation. Modified devices, ranging from simple tools to sophisticated computerized equipment (like wheelchairs for sports), should be utilized to suit different abilities.
Graded Activities: Activities should begin simply, focusing on a single action, and gradually move from non-locomotor to locomotor, and finally to manipulative activities. Teachers should demonstrate skills visually (or use videos) and make practices enjoyable by using progressive counts, rhymes, or songs.
Social strategies: CWSN should be allowed to choose a sport they enjoy and be encouraged to observe others having fun first. They should start with individual training before transitioning to a small group where the teacher acts as a mediator to help them interact with peers.
Psychological strategies: Overcoming psychological barriers and personal attitudes is key to increasing participation. Children should initially be allowed to participate within their own disability group so that the challenge does not become too overwhelming. Utilizing both intrinsic motivation (having fun, staying fit) and extrinsic motivation (support from friends, parents, and coaches) helps build strong peer relationships and confidence.

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