Greater Arlington Soccer Club, Inc.

Common Disabilities (Defined and Described)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Definition: A condition that describes students who display hyperactive behaviors, have difficulty attending to the task at hand, and tend to be impulsive.

Characteristics:

• Inattention, poor listening skills, and restlessness
• Impulsive
• Hyperactivity
• Onset before age 7
• Inappropriate excessive motor activity

Coaching Strategies:

• Highly structured environment
• Reduce teaching space
• Control extraneous stimuli
• Larger number of activities, shorter time on each
• Positive behavior modification program
• Use brief instructions

Autism:

Definition: Classic autism is defined as a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age 3.

Characteristics:

• Impairment in social interaction
• Impairment of verbal and nonverbal communication
• Restricted, repetitive, and stereotypical patterns of behavior, interests, and activities
• Impaired imitation
• Lack of awareness of the existence of feelings of others
• Absence of imaginative activity

Coaching Strategies:

• Use a consistent behavior modification program
• Teach in a less stimulating area
• Use an established routine with repetitive transition strategies
• Use a predictable routine
• Be consistent in use of terms, equipment, and class organization
• Use vigorous aerobic exercise to reduce self-stimulating behavior

Behavior Disorders:

Definition: A condition of disruptive or inappropriate behaviors that interferes with a student's learning, relationships with others, or personal satisfaction to such a degree that intervention is required.

Characteristics:

• Poor coordination
• Refusal to practice
• Loss of emotional control
• Hostility
• Noncooperative Behavior
• Disorientation in space and time
• Destructive

Coaching Strategies:

• Remove distracting objects
• Impose limits on use of equipment and facilities
• Use games of social interaction
• Expect aggressiveness and monitor it closely
• Use activities that provide immediate feedback

Cerebral Palsy:

Definition: A disorder of movement and posture caused by a defect in the developing brain.

Characteristics:

• Primitive reflexes are still evident
• Slow to develop postural reflexes
• May have the following:
• Mental retardation
• Convulsions
• Speech problems
• Oculomotor defects
• Hearing and vision loss

Coaching Strategies:

• Work on muscle stretching
• Develop range of motion
• Develop postural alignments
• Use ramp climbing
• Work on gait training

Hearing Impairments:

Definition: An overall term that includes all levels of hearing loss, both deaf and hard of hearing.

Characteristics:

• Balance may be affected
• Information processing time is longer
• Physical fitness may be lower
• May be a delay in social/emotional development
• Speech can range from intelligible to none

Coaching Strategies:

• Make sure the student can see your lips when you talk
• Use visual demonstrations
• Coordinate your communication method with the rest of the IEP team
• Learn basic signs and use them
• Use captioned videotapes
• Stand still when giving instructions

Learning Disabilities:

Definition: A disability in which the individual possesses average intelligence but is substantially delayed in academic achievement.

Characteristics:

• Poor spatial orientation
• Clumsiness
• Figure-background problems
• Rhythmic problems
• Problems with body awareness
• Difficulty with motor proficiency

Coaching Strategies:

• Work on body/space problems with action songs, games, mirrors, and tactile activities
• Work on balance and upper/lower body coordination for motor proficiency
• Work on obstacle courses for spatial orientation
• Use brightly colored objects for contrast
• Give opportunity for rhythmical problems

Mental Retardation:

Definition: The American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR, 1992) defines a person as mentally retarded when the following three criteria are met: cognitive level (IQ below 70-75), significant limitations exist in two or more adaptive skill areas; and the condition is present from childhood (age 18 or less).

Characteristics:

• Cognitive learning - area where students differ most
• Learn at slower rate
• Achieve less academically

Social/emotional:

• Exhibit same range but more frequently exhibit inappropriate responses to social/emotional situations.
• Do not fully comprehend what is expected of them in social situations

Physical/motor:

• Delayed development of physical skills
• Usually overweight because of less activity levels

Coaching Strategies for individuals with mild retardation:

• Put individual in less demanding sport position
• Overteach the cognitive information
• Emphasize fitness activities

Coaching Strategies for individuals with severe retardation:

• Emphasize range of motion exercises
• Have individual propel himself as much as possible
• Concentrate on postural righting activities
• Use resistance training with therabands
• Concentrate on vestibular activities

Visual Impairment:

Definition: An overall term that includes all levels of vision loss, from partially sighted to complete blindness.

Characteristics:

• Physical fitness is below those of sighted peers
• Balance development is impaired
• Fundamental motor patterns and skills are delayed
• Physical growth and maturation may be impaired
• Wide variation in residual vision

Coaching Strategies:

• Use other sensory modalities for providing information
• Use games for social development
• Use a beeper, constant sound source, etc.
• Place students where they can best hear instructions
• Use contrasts between figure and background
• Increase or decrease the grade to indicate play boundaries
• Begin new game in slower motion

Reference

PE Central (2009). Common disabilities: Defined/described. Retrieved December 5, 2009, from http://www.pecentral.org/adapted/adapteddisabilities.html