Physical Education for Students with Spina Bifida: Mothers’ Perspectives

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of mothers' perspectives of their children's experiences in inclusive physical education. It describes the value mothers placed on physical education, the meaning they ascribed to their children's physical education experiences, the role of the Personal Program Plan (PPP) in mother's communication with the school, and the other means of communication they used to share their thoughts about children's participation. The stories of mothers of elementary (1 boy, 3 girls) and secondary (2 boys, 1 girl) aged children with spina bifida were collected and analyzed using the hermeneutic phenomenological methods of semistructured interviews, artifacts, documents, and field notes. The thematic analysis revealed three themes: A Good Thing But…, Connection to Disability Sports, and Beyond the Curriculum. Peters ' (1996) model of disablement provided the conceptual framework for the interpretation of the findings.iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I come to the end of another chapter in my life, I am aware that I owe a debt of gratitude so many persons who helped and supported me in completing this thesis.

Determinants and challenges in physical activity participation in families with children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders from a family systems perspective

“…It is a struggle that is also noted in the current data (e.g. mother from family 5) and supports the notion that there is difficulty in trying to balance the child's needs and the needs of the entire family (An & Goodwin, 2007;Turnbull et al, 2006). Families also need to balance parenting their child with ASD and meeting requirements and priorities to promote a healthy family life (Woodgate, Ateah, & Secco, 2008).…”

“…In addition to social isolation and rejection from peers, parents of children with HFASD in this study as well as parents of children with many types of disabilities in previous research are concerned about their child's safety (An & Goodwin, 2007;Ayvazoglu et al, 2006;Worcester, Nesman, Mendez, & Keller, 2008). Parents' concern for safety of their own children with HFASD or for the safety of others may have contributed to the low amounts of MVPA found in participants.…”

Obesity across the lifespan among persons with spina bifida

“…Among non-ambulatory children with spina bifida, obesity rates begin to become greater than rates observed in the general population during the preschool years [13]. Early and aggressive dietary intervention [25] and regular physical activity are recommended for the prevention of obesity in children with spina bifida [26,27]. The incidence of obesity increases with age across the lifespan in the general population [4].…”

Integrace žáků s tělesným postižením do hodin školní tělesné výchovy

“…Z našich výsledků je však patrné, že pouhých 38 % rodičů je přesvědčeno o významu integračního procesu a souhlasí se začleněním svého dítě-te do školní tělesné výchovy. K opačnému závěru došla studie provedená kanadskými odborníky (An, Goodwin, 2007). V rámci tohoto výzkumu jsou formulovány postoje matek dětí s tělesným postižením k integrované tělesné výchově.…”