Games for Disabled Children

[wisepop]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could help me with some inspriation? I'm currently visiting a special school for the physically disabled and I've been asked to think of some games to play for the elementary students' P.E. period (e.g. playground type games). We have already adapted onigoku (excuse the spelling) and stuck in the mud for children with severe mobility issues and in wheelchairs, but I've been asked if there were any other games we could play. Sounds strange considering my job description but the use of English in the game is not required.

In particular I'm having difficulty thinking if games for the very small class of combined physical and mentally disabled students. Does anyone have any experience here with good playground/P.E./physical games in this kind of situation? Do you have any suggestions?

I would be grateful for any help since I'm drawing a blank and all my other suggestions to the teachers have been shot down as too complicated/difficult to carry out.

[Siyris]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone could help me with some inspriation? I'm currently visiting a special school for the physically disabled and I've been asked to think of some games to play for the elementary students' P.E. period (e.g. playground type games). We have already adapted onigoku (excuse the spelling) and stuck in the mud for children with severe mobility issues and in wheelchairs, but I've been asked if there were any other games we could play. Sounds strange considering my job description but the use of English in the game is not required.

In particular I'm having difficulty thinking if games for the very small class of combined physical and mentally disabled students. Does anyone have any experience here with good playground/P.E./physical games in this kind of situation? Do you have any suggestions?

I would be grateful for any help since I'm drawing a blank and all my other suggestions to the teachers have been shot down as too complicated/difficult to carry out.

There's a game called Zip that might be fun.... (other variations include the games ninja, dip, and zing)
You have the students arrange themselves in a circle and one person starts. They have the 'zip'. They make a motion with their arm towards another person in the circle and say "Zip". The person they motioned to now has the 'Zip'. Once the students master passing the Zip, you can level it up by having the people on either side of the person with the 'zip' motioning at that person and saying 'zippy' while the person with the zip says 'zip'.
See below for a ghetto-riffic diagram-thing

A ---- B ---- C ----- D ---- E
So if B has the 'zip' B gestures with his arm towards E and says 'Zip'. While B gestures at E, A and C gesture at B and say 'zippy'. After that, E then chooses someone else to send the 'zip' to, while D and the person on E's other side say 'zippy'.
The game is much easier than it sounds when written out. It also becomes a lot of fun.
Variations:
Dip: instead of saying 'zip' once, the person with the pass says 'dip, dip, dip, dip' while waving an arm at who they are passing it to, and the people on the sides say 'dippity, dippity, dippity, dip.'
Ninja: Instead of saying 'zip' the person with the pass makes a stereotypical ninja sound while making a karate-like chop (this might not be the best choice for Japanese students as it is not the most culturally sensitive, but it might be fun all the same?), people on the side do the same thing.
Zing: No side people, only one person passes, but the challenge is that the pass is from eye contact -- gesture can be to anyone, but the eye contact is where the pass actually goes.

If you have some older kids (5-6th grade) you could play Horse with them, assuming you have access to a basketball and a hoop.
You might also try a balloon relay -- blow up a couple of balloons, and then have the students keep those balloons balanced on a paper plate as they do a relay.... add in cones they have to weave between to level up the difficulty. If the balloon falls from the plate, the students have to stop until a teacher can put the balloon back in place. They pass it off to the next person, and the first team to have all their players finish wins.

Hope some of those help.

[Allison_NaraPA]

I visit the Special Needs Schools of Nara.

In general, I try to create activities that have mental and physical elements, adjusting as needed. My goal is to get them moving, thinking, and to have fun! The following have been very successful with students in wheelchairs and small classes of students with various special needs:

Red Light, Green Light
Hot Potato
What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?
the `Directions Song` http://youtu.be/Vgyer0IauyQ (*Move wheelchairs with video to make a dance. My kids LOVED this!)
Honey If You Love Me, Won`t You Please, Please Smile?
Heads Up, 7-Up (or Doggy, Where`s Your Bone?)
....and any activity involving a parachute

I recently created a game in which I used tape to create a very large grid (game board) on the floor. Then I designated `start`, `finish`, and `go back to start` squares within the board. Before the game, we learned and reviewed directional vocabulary. To play, I offered students an over sized (1 ft` by 1ft`), cardboard die that I had made with cardboard and colored paper. Each side had a different directional vocab word and picture. The students would roll the die, move accordingly from wheelchair-sized space to space, and they loved it! They really enjoyed actually `being` the game pieces!

If you have any questions or would like to share ideas/experiences, please feel free to send me a PM. Good luck!

[GunmaBrentPA]

A popular game that I have done with in some of my special needs schools is a variation of the Color Islands game.

Use colored cones/hoops to serve as a color "base". When you say a color the kids run and touch the color in question. That's it. The kids have a great time running back and forth between the various cones and although it sounds really easy many of the students are at a low enough level that they have a hard time remembering colors.

If you can be more specific in what the students' level is I might be able to suggest a few more games.

[Lyre]

Allison, that grid game sounds amazing!

The special needs kids I work with aren't in wheel chairs, so I am not sure how much I can contribute to this discussion.
But for my kids, I've played games with them similar to Brent, where I placed either colors or objects in different parts of the room (or the gym), and the kids had to get to the one I called out. Most of my kid's are on the mental rather than physical side, so you have to adjust accordingly, but they seemed to have fun running around, and they were pretty solid on their colors after that!

Maybe, depending on the level of your kids, try a Simon Says game? You can also build that into a dance if you are so inclined (The Hokey Pokey is amazing for this), but that might take a few days of work with the students before they are ready. I really don't have too much to add, but I love these ideas!

Great post!

[ChottoMonkey]

These all sound like good ideas, and I may be able to add quite a few more but I would need a bit of detail. What do you mean when you say physical and mental disabilities?

Specifically:
Physical - mobility with wheelchair, low fine or gross motor skills, issues with body control as often seen in individuals with cerebral palsy?

Mental - This is a huge range. I'm really not sure how the Japanese deal with classification of students with disabilities. Are these students with mental health issues (schizophrenia / bipolar), or are these students with cognitive disabilities (mental retardation / learning disability), or are we in other areas such as Autism, ADD/ADHD, Emotional Disturbance, Downs Syndrome (which has a mental component).

Each of these disabilities has unique characteristics and there are some things that may work significantly better than others for adapting/modifying games and curriculum to allow for greater participation.

[Allison_NaraPA]

Game Idea for Students in Wheelchairs - ``Sushi Lunch!`` (Possible Teaching Topics: Colors/Numbers)

Before the game, the class learned/reviewed basic color vocabulary.

Materials: Cut simple fish, eel, and octopus shapes out of brightly colored origami paper. Then attach a paperclip to each shape. To make a fishing pole, start with a cheap cat toy. Then attach a heavy twine line with a very small magnet tied to the bottom. (small and light, safe to wield)

Setup: Scatter the fish on a small table about 4 inches lower than the desks of the students` wheelchairs. When students go fishing, drop/swing the magnet over the side of the wheelchair and into the collection of fish. (If needed, teachers can guide the line or adjust the scattered fish.)

Game Summary: Draw simple, silly pictures of each student holding an empty plate or bento on the board. Then, invite students to `go fishing` for their lunch. One at a time, students use a fishing pole to catch their lunch. When they catch a fish, they must correctly identify or indicate the fish`s color in order to keep it in their bento. At the end of the game, the bentos are filled with fish, and the class can count them together.

*For added fun, if the students are into it, give a few light tugs to the student`s line, squeal when they catch something, wriggle the paper fish like it`s alive.

[wisepop]

Hiya guys,

Sorry for the late reply to all of your great suggestions. Thank you very much for the help!