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Career Description

Provide individualized physical education instruction or services to children, youth or adults with exceptional physical needs due to gross motor developmental delays or other impairments.

What Job Titles Adapted Physical Education Specialists Might Have

• Adapted Physical Education or Adapted Physical Activity Specialist
• Adapted Physical Education Specialist
• Adapted Physical Education Specialist-Workshop Leader
• Adapted Physical Education Teacher

What Adapted Physical Education Specialists Do

• Provide adapted physical education services to students with intellectual disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, orthopedic impairments, or other disabling condition.
• Adapt instructional techniques to the age and skill levels of students.
• Instruct students, using adapted physical education techniques, to improve physical fitness, gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, or sports and game achievement.
• Maintain thorough student records to document attendance, participation, or progress, ensuring confidentiality of all records.
• Assist in screening or placement of students in adapted physical education programs.
• Provide students positive feedback to encourage them and help them develop an appreciation for physical education.
• Assess students' physical progress or needs.
• Prepare lesson plans in accordance with individualized education plans (IEPs) and the functional abilities or needs of students.
• Establish and maintain standards of behavior to create safe, orderly, and effective environments for learning.
• Provide individual or small groups of students with adapted physical education instruction that meets desired physical needs or goals.
• Write or modify individualized education plans (IEPs) for students with intellectual or physical disabilities.
• Evaluate the motor needs of individual students to determine their need for adapted physical education services.
• Communicate behavioral observations and student progress reports to students, parents, teachers, or administrators.
• Write reports to summarize student performance, social growth, or physical development.
• Advise education professionals of students' physical abilities or disabilities and the accommodations required to enhance their school performance.
• Attend in-service training, workshops, or meetings to keep abreast of current practices or trends in adapted physical education.
• Review adapted physical education programs or practices to ensure compliance with government or other regulations.
• Request or order physical education equipment, following standard procedures.
• Maintain inventory of instructional equipment, materials, or aids.

What Adapted Physical Education Specialists Should Be Good At

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Adapted Physical Education Specialists Need to Learn

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.