Janine Calmes, PT,
MS
TxSpot Support
It may not be the same in some
other states, but in Texas, school-based physical therapists and occupational
therapists can be asked to do an adapted physical education evaluation.
So, you have been asked to assess a
student for adapted physical education (APE) – where do you start?
The
goal of an APE evaluation will sound familiar since it sounds much like the goal
for an IEP. It is to ensure that “each student receives the most appropriate
physical education program in the least restrictive environment.”
There are five
purposes for APE evaluations:
·
To establish
present level of performance.
·
To develop
the program – to determine which activities would promote development of delayed
areas and any modifications needed to facilitate participation.
·
To determine
the most appropriate PE placement in the least restrictive
environment.
·
To make an
educated estimate of what the student may be capable of achieving.
·
To measure
achievement.
Evaluation for APE can include
information gathered from screening or testing instruments, observation, survey
reports, review of records, and consulting with parents. The assessment(s) that
you choose for APE is going to depend on several things: the age and grade level
of the student as well as the nature and severity of his or her disability.
Region 10 Educational Service Center (Region 10) has
made recommendations for primary and secondary assessment tools for APE. Primary
tools are recommended first because they closely relate to the general education
PE curriculum and are age and developmentally appropriate. Secondary tests are
recommended when primary assessment tools are not developmentally appropriate.
Non-standardized instruments can be used as supplementary
information gathering tools. Region 10 APE specialists have designed alternate
assessment instruments for students with moderate to severe motor
deficits, including evaluation tools for ambulatory students
with low motor performance, students with visual impairments, and students with orthopedic
impairments. Their package of APE evaluation tools also includes Ecological Surveys, the
Physical Education Participation Inventory (P.E.P.I.), and the Lifetime Leisure
Survey.
The primary tools recommended by Region
10 for children aged 0 – 5 years 11 months are
·
Louisiana
Motor Assessment for Pre-Schoolers (LaMAP), ·
Hawaiian
Early Learning Profile (HELP), and
The primary tools recommended for
children ages 6 – 22 are
·
Competency
Testing for Adapted Physical Education (CTAPE - CTAPE ), ·
Adapted
Physical Education Assessment Scale (APEAS -
APEAS - II), ·
PE
Participation Inventory (PEPI - PEPI),
Check the links below for other
recommendations for APE evaluation instruments:
3/4/2016
