Physical Education: Inclusion for Students with Visual Impairments This video is posted online with the following chapter markers: Chapter 1. Benefits of Physical Education Chapter 2. Barriers for VI Students Chapter 3. General Accommodations Chapter 4. Specific Accommodations Description of graphical content is included between Description Start and Description End. Transcript Start [Music] Fade up from black. Animation: Text for TSBVI transform into braille cells for TSBVI. [Music face out] Fade to black. Chapter 1. Benefits of Physical Education Scott Baltisberger: So, here's what we're going to do today, just to kind of break it down for you guys. We're going to talk about-- here's the topics we're going to try to cover today. We're going to talk about the benefits of physical education, sort of overall, like why do kids need physical education in this day and age. [ Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Content: Description End: We want to talk about some of the barriers there are for students who have visual impairment about their participation in PE classes. We also want to talk about some accommodations for specific sports. [ Slide end: ] Joe, you have some ideas about those things. And then finally we'll go over some resources for adapting PE classes for students with visual impairment. So... I guess one reason we started talking about having this webinar is I know when I was a TVI, out in the field, that this topic would come up fairly often. PE teachers were quite concerned when they would get a student with visual impairment in their class. And as my university training when I was studying to become a TVI, I think I had exactly zero classes on this, zero training in adapting PE. So I don't know what was your experience with that, Joe? Joe Paschall: Well, I was a physical education major at the university, and before that I was a sociology major because that's what they expected all people that were blind and visually impaired to do. And then I finally started asking questions about my junior year, what am I going to do with this. And there wasn't much I could. So then they mentioned physical education and I'm like, ah‑ha. And I was able to use my sociology background as my second teaching field, and then I wanted to do the APE because in the physical education department then, or as the department of kinesiology, that's what it's referred to as now, they only had one adaptive PE course. And I took it and I was able to do a lot of on‑site training in different schools, and even here at the school for the blind. To they had-- I knew of one program at Texas women's university, but I talked to an advisor and they told me to go ahead and get my TVI, teacher of the visual impairment, which I did, and it's the best thing I've ever done because it got me in the doorway in the places that I wanted to be in, along with my knowledge of Braille and all the other ways and adaptations to work with students that are visually impaired. Baltisberger: As far as your training as a TVI, did they cover physical education classes? Paschall: No, not at all. What was closest to that was orientation and mobility, and that was pretty much learning how to walk sighted guide and travel in neighborhoods, but nothing to do with motor skills or fitness. Baltisberger: Yeah. So in this day and age, you know, I think people of a certain age remember a time when there was a lot of physical activity associated with going to school. We had playground quite a bit, went out to recess several times a day. And there was-- and PE was a required course that you took pretty much everyday. But we've seen a steady erosion of that. I think kids in general don't move as much as they used to do. And I think if we think about why should kids are taking PE, like what good is PE, let's talk about some of the benefits of physical education. [ Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Content: Description End: And first of all, how does it impact our physical development? So we've got-- it's good for your motor skills development. [ Slide end: ] Paschall: The motor skills. It's good for social interaction. It's good for team building, learning how to work with others and compromise, cardiovascular fitness, academic. It's just-- sometimes I would get so tired and I think I'm so tired because I'd be studying all day and then I would go run three or four miles. And then I was able to attend back to my studies after I did this effortlessly. And I was more relaxed. And we just need that as-- and we were designed to be hunters and gatherers and we're behind phones and computers all the time now, so we need to get back to that. We don't have to go hunting, but we can run and swim and take a time out of the day for fitness activities. Baltisberger: Again, looking at physical benefits, there's motor skills, there's strength and stamina if. If you're physically fit or you have a certain level of physical fitness, you're going to be healthier. Cardiovascular health also is affected. And they've looked at decreased health risks in things like diabetes, cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis. It really has lifelong benefits in that area. And then you were just mentioning some of the more like the psychological emotional benefits from exercise. I think we were talking earlier and you had mentioned just now about the increased attention span. [ Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Content: Description End: Paschall: Absolutely. Baltisberger: Kids are more focused. Paschall: Right. Baltisberger: And I was reading some information about this and one doctor called it priming the pump. That when you're physically fit, when you've engaged in physical exercise, your attention, your focus, your impulsivity is increase decreased. [ Slide end: ] And I think that's great for kids in general. For some kids who have attention difficulties it's really important for them. And I think the other-- one other area I wanted just to touch on about why physical fitness is so important, one of the reasons I think it's decreased over the years is there's such a focus on standardized testing and testing in academic areas. So PE of course is not on the STAAR test. So it's kind of lost some of its focus, but I looked at some studies they've done where they correlate physical fitness and increased academic scores. So if you think about it that way, making sure your kid is engaged physically-- Paschall: Yes. And I'm talking about daily. And it doesn't have to be for long periods of time, but not every one is-- when I say an athlete, not everyone is a star football or basketball or baseball player, but you can do fitness activities and enjoy them. They're not grueling. And you just have to start short and then just lengthen and lengthen and lengthen. And then before you know it, when I see this with kids, kids come in, they can't walk a half a mile on the treadmill in 15 minutes, and then they get up to a mile in 20 minutes. And then they get up to a mile in 17 and then to 16. And it's not going to go change daily, but you just have to stay with it and stay on it. Baltisberger: Yeah. And I think that's another benefit of physical education if you look at the impact on their social and emotional-- on their impact on their social and emotional development. The chance of having-- you're building lifelong recreation and leisure skills. Paschall: Absolutely. Baltisberger: And you're getting out of your-- off your couch and out in the community and you're actually a little more engaged with life that way. And often times when you're engaged in recreation skills, you're doing it with other people so it positively impacts your social interaction. [ Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Content: Description End: Paschall: Well, you know, we're fortunate to have Lady Bird lake here. [ Slide end: ] We have beautiful hike and bike trails, and Austin is a very healthy city. And on the weekends, you really have-- you've got to watch where you're going because there's people-- it's crowded. It's like 5:00 traffic. But they're all moving and you know, there are couples that are talking, and these people-- I know I see them in their 20s and 30s and 40s and 50s, and little old ladies walking out there together, which is just really cool. Baltisberger: Yeah, yeah. So it has lifelong impact. And engagement in sports, it's-- I've done a lot of webinars about arts and theater, and you know, it's a different type of intelligence and it really does give young people a different type of approach to solving problems, an approach to looking at things. It kind of increases your point of view. So enhances your problem‑solving skills. Paschall: Right. And in games there are strategies and you can't just go out there and move. You've got to think about am I going to go to the left with this ball or to the right or throw it or pass it. And that is critical thinking there. In its own capacity, you know, there's more intellectual critical thinking, but that's quick. Let's go, let's go, let's go. And you've got to be on your feet and think very quickly. Chapter 2. Barriers for VI Students Baltisberger: Yeah, thanks. [ Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Content: Description End: So let's talk a little bit about some barriers that students with visual impairment sometimes face in participating in physical education classes. And I was thinking of three main areas. There's concerns about safety, that comes up a lot. They're worried something's going to happen. There's not a lot of knowledge. There's insufficient knowledge about how to adapt activities for students with visual impairment. And the student themselves, it's a circular thing where they don't engage in physical activities, so they're less likely to engage. So they just don't develop the primary skills to do it. [ Slide end: ] So could you just talk a little bit about some of the barriers that you've seen or some of the concerns? Paschall: Well, I think, number one, misconceptions. And it's in another part of the handout, but people that approach, even adults that are blind, [loudly] "How are you doing!" They get really loud and that just throws people off more than speaking softly. I think it has a lot to do with the family unit. I think a lot of their parents are afraid and they've got bonded with other parents that have a visually impaired child. And I think it needs to start early and it needs to start from day one. And I think my dad-- I'm almost 62. I think my dad just threw me in the water and said swim, boy! And my mother wasn't there. But I did those kind of things and-- but my family encouraged it and I never felt any different, and the first time I ever felt really different was baseball. That was hard, and basketball. But that's not all of sports and all of physical activity. It just scratches the surface. Baltisberger: Right. Well, I know the safety concerns were always very high when I was working as a TVI and I would have-- talk to a PE teacher and they were always concerned about the student getting hurt. And I think that is a legitimate concern, but I think it can be overstated sometimes. Paschall: I think overstated or overzealous. I think that a lot of it nowadays has to do with liability, and that is just such a shame. Even here at the school, some of the things that kids did and their parents wanted them to do, we have to really be careful and watch that. And you're right about the safety, and that is important, but a lot of times the student is able to communicate what he can see and where he needs to go and how he moves. And you know, just observe that. And every student, every student that is visually impaired, even if they have the visual impairment, is an individual. And two students can have the same exact impairment, one may be very athletic and another may not be athletic. That is them as a person, that has nothing to do with their vision. So you have to kind of observe and ask questions and they'll be fine with that. Baltisberger: Yeah, yeah. Everyone is an individual. One thing you said, I read in the handout, is you mentioned that, you know, try not to think about their vision first, try to think of their-- assess their abilities the same as you would their peers. Paschall: Yes. Baltisberger: And vision, of course, is a component of that, but try not to use that as the only criteria. Paschall: Right. And how that happens is-- excuse me. How that happens is-- I need to you ask me that question again. Sorry. Okay. Rephrase the question, please. Baltisberger: You had mentioned when a teacher, when a PE teacher has a blind or visually impaired student in the class and they're wanting to assess their abilities, there's a tendency to look at the vision as that's the primary thing. Where you mentioned don't look at that first. Paschall: Yeah. Look at their body makeup, look at like when you're doing exercise. When someone is congenitally blind, it's a really big-- really involved skill to teach because you're moving four different body limbs at the same time in different directions. And you know, people even with low vision, they can see that. So you've got to break that down into a task, but those are the things that you need to watch. A lot of students with visual impairments are sedentary and it's not that their parents don't love them, they're just afraid. And a lot of it is education. And I am going to go off the subject just one little time here. There is an organization of parents that have children that are visually impaired called TAPVI, and it's Texas association of parents of visually impaired, and they have a lot of chapters all over the state. And that would be the big help. And they do do a lot of physical education stuff. Because I was president one time so I got all that in for them. [ Laughter ]. Chapter 3. General Accommodations Baltisberger: Well, let's go on and keep talking about some of the general accommodations you make just for students in PE classes. Paschall: I think-- first of all, before the first day of class they need to be oriented to the parameters of the gym. [ Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Content: Description End: You need to show them, you know, the locker rooms. The best way to do this is to walk the parameter of the entire gym. And as you go, tell them if there's a window, tell them there's a window. [ Slide end: ] They're not going to remember everything, but they're going to have an idea of how large it is before they're thrown in there with balls flying around and music and kids. PE is loud, so it's very intimidating going in. And it's echo‑y too. So that just intensifies all of it. All those senses are there. And like equipment. I don't know how many of you in your physical education classes have them lift weights, but we do that here. So before they even do one repetition, we orient them to the weights, where they are. We have them do-- on their circuit weight training we have them do a routine that it's the same sequence every single time, the stations. Like station number 1 would be overhead press. Station number No., bench press. And they do that every single time instead of just running somewhere. And that works out. I think having-- letting the students know, their peers know, that there's going to be someone with a visual impairment in there. And I think that either way is okay, but some kids are just so-- their self‑esteem is so low they don't want it to be brought to anyone's attention, but then some students they'll talk about it and, you know, mention the help that they need. So again, it goes back to everyone's an individual, give them an orientation to the gym. Meet them, have the parent bring them up or even the VI teacher the week before school starts and meet the PE teacher if they don't know them. That kind of prep is going to make everything a lot better. Baltisberger: Yeah, yeah. Getting-- doing a lot of prepping for the class. Paschall: Right, exactly. And it's not that you have to-- you as physical education teachers have to do it all, but you with the O&M instructors, orientation and mobility, which teaches them how to travel. You have the teacher visually impaired who adapts their work in Braille or large print. And they're there and they want this to work. They're passionate about it and they'll help you tremendously. Baltisberger: Yeah. And if-- if those professionals, the TVI and the COMS, if they can know ahead of time what activity ‑‑ Paschall: Yes. Baltisberger: then they can plan for it. Because there may be times when you want somebody in the class with them. There may be times when you can do pre-teaching. There may be some ideas about how to adapt that class. Because we don't expect a PE teacher to know how to adapt every sport for a student with visual impairment, but there are people who can do that. So it's very important to develop a relationship with the professionals that work with students who are I am visually impaired. Paschall: And I want you to know that some students-- if there's a minor adaptations can participate 100% of the time, but don't beat yourself up if they're not able to participate 100% of the time. I just think to begin a class with stretching and calisthenics, a lot of times it gets everybody going. Sometimes they send an aide. Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you're not. If you're not, talk to their supervisor or their TVI about having someone else come in. Because a lot of those teachers, a lot of people they don't want to go to-- they just don't want to do it. And that's okay too, but it works so much better when you have someone in there with these students, a TA that is attentive and enjoys being in there. Baltisberger: Yeah, that's true. And so there's different ways for-- to teach a student with a visual impairment often times needs a lot more direct instruction, individual instruction simply because most kids learn PE through observation. Paschall: Observation. Baltisberger: So with the visually impaired children, they may need some hands on instruction. And there are different ways to do it. There are different ways of doing hands on instruction. Paschall: Yes. Baltisberger: So we've got-- there's tactile modeling, which is where the student touches the person's body while they're performing the action. Paschall: Right. Or the instructor. Either one. Baltisberger: And there's tactile guidance, which is where the teacher can sort of move the student's hands in the correct motion. Paschall: Right. Baltisberger: And there's also co‑active movement where the two move together. Paschall: And, you know, this holds true for like a lot of calisthenics and I'm not preaching it, but I'm focusing on it because that is something that they can participate in. To have them upfront in like the front row, to when you're teaching a new school to students, to their peers, have them come up and-- that would be co‑active. You would show them through the visually impaired student how to do this. And it's amazing. I just did this yesterday with a student. We have an activity called-- well, it's a new sport. It's about four or five years old. It's older than that, but it became popular then. It's blind tennis. And you're going to see kids that are totally blind, they're going to march more than shuffle. And to play blind tennis there's a ball with a sound source, and he-- what the teacher was doing, the other coach was doing, she was behind him and he was trying to move with her, but what I did yesterday is I got in front of him and he held on to me and he got it that way. So, sometimes those little minor changes are effective in showing or having to improve those skills such as shuffling and running and jumping and all those basic motor skills. Now, one thing I do want to show you while we're on calisthenics, these are little circles-- good, and they're the right color. You can see them. In body position, your feet are at shoulder width and they're parallel to each other. This is what you need, it gives them a frame of reference. This is such an easy thing and it helps so much. And they used to do carpet squares, but they slid all around, but these they adhere to-- wood or tile or anything. And they won't slip. And then they're not-- you know, carpet squares are pretty big. This is an exact cue on where their feet need to be and it helps tremendously. Chapter 4. Specific Accommodations Baltisberger: Now, we're talking about specific accommodations for kind of specific types of sports. I really want you to talk a little bit about running. [ Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Content: Description End: Like what do you recommend for just teaching students who are blind, students with severe visual impairments to run? Paschall: That skill-- well, again, low vision students have an advantage. [ Slide end: ] They can see that. And they usually don't have much trouble with that, but it's the congenitally blind. What they tend to do is they run and stomp their feet like that. And they think the faster they move their feet the faster they're going and they're not going anywhere. They're not going anywhere and they hold their hands up like this and lean back. So, I know everyone doesn't have access to a treadmill, but what I have had success with is finding a treadmill, putting it on a pretty high incline, but on a low speed, they understand their gait, they understand it makes them make that extension with their leg. And I had a student, I worked with him a year and a half on that, and we went out to the track and on the rail he would do the same thing, but one day after a year and a half, we went out there and he started running, he just started it. And he was on the track team and he did well. I mean, he medal medalled on our track team. So sometimes if you-- I think the best person to talk to is the TVI because the TVI has-- they write everything down and talk to the parents and they get that information. I mean, for sure you talk to the parent, but on the other hand, I completely understand-- I mean, I've been in gyms where there's like 60 kids and you have this one VI kid in there and they need help, and that's why talking to the TVI-- because they're in constant contact with the parent. They can share that information with you. Baltisberger: Yeah, I like that, your idea of using the treadmill to get the correct gait. I think it's really-- I never thought of that. And I have noticed the problem you were talking about with the students who think they're running by moving their feet fast, but they're just taking little tiny steps. Paschall: But you know, you can co‑actively move them, you can pull them, you can get a rope and have them hold on to the rope. But I've never-- I haven't had as much success in any of those as I've had with just the treadmill. And they may not-- they might can just go to the Y a couple of times and do that and then they gain that skill. Baltisberger: Yeah. And running is kind of essential for a lot of sports. Paschall: Oh, absolutely, yes. They don't know-- you know, your body is in space just like in a pool. I'm an avid aquatics person and I do the same thing in the pool as I do in the gym. First thing we get in there, we do the parameters of the whole pool and then we walk across. Then they know where the deepened is. And so many kids, when they-- they go past the rope and they're swimming, but then they can't touch, they have no idea how far the bottom is under their feet. So they're panicked. It's that same thing. Baltisberger: Yeah, orientation to the environment is key. What about ball sport, like throwing and catching a ball? Paschall: You know, I have seen 20‑year‑olds-- and I've worked, like I said, I've worked in elementary and everything into adults and even to adults adults. [ Laughter ]. That are visually impaired. And I've seen 20‑year‑olds that throw-- you know, they throw like this. And I had training at Kalamazoo, Michigan, and American Michigan university, and first of all, you start out and you have them in a ready position. You can use the spots. We'll just call them the spots. And they need to learn how to stand to be ready, and you start with an under hand throw. So you start out with ready position. And you know, some kids, they turn, they have no idea, they have no point of reference to keep their shoulders in line so they'll turn their bodies. So you've got to get that down first. And you say ready position. And then the second run-- I'm a lefty, but I'll go with my right arm back, ball facing the floor, so you have them get in the ready position and then you have them do that. And you make sure that they're competent in that. And then move the arm and step and release. Now, what a lot of them tend to do is they either go way up here when they release it or they go-- they release it too low and it goes on the ground. So what you need to do is make sure-- you can do that co‑actively, is show them where their arm needs to be, let them practice without throwing it. So that's-- it's like-- remember those books that were cartoons and you would flip the pages and you know, they would be a different picture and then they would flip it and it would be a cartoon? That's what I can compare it to. Baltisberger: One step at a time. Paschall: One step at a time. And they're going to be at first, they're going to be robotic, but then they're going to-- it's going to smooth out. And it just takes some time. I want to go back to orientation because I didn't want to forget this. Baltisberger: Okay. Paschall: But when you're sighted and, you know, you go into a gym and you have the perception of what's there, this is how it's kind of like comparing when someone that's totally blind has the conception of the parameters of maybe a ball. So I give them a tennis ball and they know exactly the perimeters, how large it is, what it feels like. So that's kind of like you-- you're able to do that with a gym or a mountain or a big job. So then there's a therapy ball sitting in the gym so you see the therapy ball if you're sighted, but if the blind-- if the visually impaired student goes up, they're going to have to feel around and explore the parameters of that. So that is the best way I can explain how much longer-- how the students needs to explore the environment anywhere they are. Baltisberger: So I wanted to look-- we have some videos here of some kids at a track meet. Some students from the school here at a track meet. And I'd like to look at the sprint. I think there's a video of a sprint. If we could look at that for just a minute. Paschall: Absolutely. Baltisberger: So this is a sprint, and they're using an auditory cue. It's a relay, sprint relay. [ Video start: ] Yeah! All right. Runners ready? On your mark, get set, go! Go ahead, get it, now. Go, go! All right, all right, all right. One two, one two, one two, one two! One two, one two. Let's go. [Cheering] [ Video end: ] Baltisberger: Nice, yeah. So those guys had good technique. Paschall: Beautiful. Yes. That one two, one two, one two, I've been hoarse from that many a time. But that is-- it puts a rhythm in their head. And you know, I did triathlons and when I would do the running part of it there was a song black and yellow about 10 years ago, and I was like black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow, and that's how I kept my pace up because it was pretty grueling for me to do that. But there's another way in track for people that are totally blind to run longer distances. If they wanted to do a 400 or an 800 they use what's called a tether. And the tether is 18 inches long. So with a tether they have a guide, and both in our school of the blind conference and in public schools if they're blind, we were in a conference when I was here and how a tether is used, the athlete is in front and then the guide is in the back. They're not pulling them. So, what they do is they run behind them and as you come to the corner, you pull over to make them feel that corner because this is the School for the Blind, we are fortunate enough to have a railing, but a lot of blind schools don't have railings, but we're lucky, we have a very-- we have a 200‑meter track, but it's not six lanes and both sides have the railing on it. However, I think in track they work better with the-- with a guide because they're able to move-- they're still able to move their arm. There's enough slack in that rope for them to be able to, you know, use their arm and they lose that when it's on the rail. But this is a funny story. I had a student-- I was a little bit younger, but you know, I was going to be his guide, and his name was Kazzy. And we had practiced together. And then we got to the track meet and then he got excited and then he was pulling me. [ Laughter ]. I couldn't keep up with him. I said Kazzy-- he said coach, I didn't know I could run like that! And just the excitement of being there. So, they can-- a track is very manageable in any situation. I wanted to talk about a scenario with track. Do we have time? Baltisberger: Since you were talking about the tether, we actually have a video of a student running and it looks like they're running maybe a 220 or a 440. Paschall: Yes. Baltisberger: And with a guide using a tether. Why don't we look at that video now. Paschall: Okay. [ Video start: ] [Cheering] [ Video end: ] Baltisberger: So, the guys on the far right are using a tether and the pair of runners-- there were two runners and each one had a guide. And the one on the far inside was using the tether that you described like a piece of tubing or a piece of rope. And the other was running sighted guide. And what I noticed about that with the tether is they're able to run with a more-- their arm doesn't have to stay in the same spot. And I wanted to say, Joe, and I just remembered this when you were talking about that, that years ago, many years ago, I was actually in the Capital 10,000 here in Austin, and I was running, and all of a sudden somebody passed me on my right side, came around me and ran in front of me, and this runner was on-- had a tether, was using a tether. And that person was you, Joe! [ Laughter ] You passed me up and kept going. So that was-- that was ‑‑ Paschall: You know, me being visually impaired, I definitely took the lifelong adult-- I kind of took it to the limits. And I don't want-- well, I hope I don't sound like I'm bragging, but in my 50s I did an Iron man triathlon and then I did the Boston marathon the next year and then after that tore up my hip, but I'm back now. Baltisberger: You're back now, so watch out. Paschall: Yeah, yeah. But that-- I just kept going and the beauty of that is I was able to bring back-- the kids do triathlons here, they do them in the general public. They do have a guide. They use tandem bicycles. But they're in the community and they're not sloppy. They are winning first, second and third places. And they don't-- you know, with the tandem and the tether, they don't disqualify that at all. They average that in with the community. And let's see, the Capital 10 K, as you mentioned, our kids do that every year. We snow ski. There's blind tennis now. There's a game called goalball, if we can get to that, those things. Let's see what else? Golf. And the kids that are blind-- what I found out is golf's not vision, it's form. And it's form. And that's the beauty of it. But you've got to have somebody to help you find the ball. Baltisberger: Yeah. I had the opportunity several years ago, the world champion blind golfer at that time was living in San Antonio. And he actually came and did a lesson for a group of kids that I had. And yes, he had a spotter. He had someone who was a spotter, which was his wife, and she would just say, you know, okay, it's this much-- the yardage is this and it's in this direction. She would kind of tell him where it is. But it was all technique, you're right. Paschall: And I knew him. I know what you're talking about. I'm almost 100% sure it's the same person. But he was a corporate-- he was in corporate America and made a lot of money and did golf, which I think was really, really cool. Baltisberger: We had a couple more videos I wanted to look at because I love to watch these videos. And I wanted to look at the high jump. There's a video of a student doing a high jump, which I think-- that's a sport-- an event that sometimes I got questioned about. How are they going to know when to jump or how high to jump. And here's a video of a student demonstrating that. [ Video start: ] You got this. [Cheering] Baltisberger: Good. Good technique. So it's modified. Typically a sighted person approaches at a run and flops over. But she modified it so she's able to do the sport. Paschall: And they are able to do that in the school of the blind conferences. I will say this, the tether is fine for track and field in public school. And shotput put and discus, I had them throwing the shot. And let's see, long jump, it's a standing long jump for the totally blind, but the kids that are low vision, they run and do that. Baltisberger: Yeah. Now, you mentioned real briefly swimming. When we've had a swimming team here, a student swim team here at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, but what are some of the-- you mentioned like orienting kids to the pool. What are some other things you do with like racing. Paschall: When you teach-- even in teaching, you know, in my physical education classes, the first thing that you have to do after the orientation is teach them how to blow bubbles and not to be afraid to put their face in the water. To be able to do a proficient stroke they have to be able to do that. And we have some kids that just can't, and they can swim, but think can do the breast stroke, they can swim with their head under the water, but it's just a front crawl. It's really hard. But it just takes time. And I have a-- I learned this at a conference. Just have them put their nose and mouth in and mmm, mmm. Now, the swim strokes, I teach the swim strokes on deck because when you get them in there and any swim stroke, there's all-- your body is doing all kinds of things. So I teach them each component of the crawl, the breast stroke and I just put a towel down and I have them do the arms and then I have them work with the legs and the same thing with the back and the side stroke. And it's-- I've seen kids be completely afraid and then they're swimming, they're going to a swim meet. And we've gone all over the country to swim meets. We've been to Boston and to Maryland and it's really cool. Baltisberger: One thing I've seen in races is a long wand. Paschall: It's called a 'tap stick' and what they do is as they're approaching to do their flip turn, they just tap them on the head. Now, there's another way to do this that they came up with a few years ago, you get PVC and you get a hose and then you get it and put it out over the water and put holes in it that protrudes over the water. They feel that water and they do their flip turn with that. But I met a gentleman that came up with technology to-- it counted, it beeped. You wore a headset and-- it was tiny-- and a cap. And as you approached, the beeper got beep, beep, beep, beep. He couldn't get that patented because there wasn't enough demand for it, but it was a beautiful device for blind people. Baltisberger: Yeah, yeah. That would be nice. So why don't we look-- I think we do have a video of a swim-- a race. We've got one that's the freestyle. Let's look at the freestyle race. [ Video start: ] [Indiscernible] [ Video end: ] Paschall: All right. Yeah, cool. So we've only got a little bit of time left, Joe, but I wanted to give you a chance to talk about some of the sports that are specifically adapted for persons who are blind and visually impaired. [ Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Content: Description End: You had mentioned I think goalball, beep baseball, blind tennis. Paschall: Beep kick ball, I forgot to mention that. Baltisberger: So we were talking earlier about goalball. And unfortunately we don't have-- I don't have a video of that sport, but that's really-- that's quite an athletic endeavor. [ Slide end: ] If you ever get a chance to watch that, you have three players, three players on each team. Paschall: On each side. Baltisberger: And they roll a ball which has a ‑‑ Paschall: A bell in it. It's very simple, the technology of it. And remember that commercial, it said this is your brain and then they fry an egg, this is your brain on drugs. This is your knees on goalball, I think. [ Laughter ] But they are lined up on a court and they're in a V formation at each end. And I believe the court is 70‑foot by 33. And they roll it back and forth. And this thing weighs 12 pounds. This is the guys'. The girls I believe is seven pounds. They change it additionally, but I think this is the last. And they literally roll it and everyone is blindfolded, even if they're totally blind, and they have to find it-- the offense has to find it and serve it back to the defense, and they need to be able to do this within eight seconds when the ball passes the line. And it's an international-- well, actually, it came out in the late 40s for vets in Holland, but it really got big about the late '70s. And it's serious. And I'm telling you, you're on a court, a hard court, this thing weighs 12 pounds. You're falling and jumping and laying around and having to get up, and you are a puddle of sweat within about the first 30 seconds of it. So it's a very rigorous game. And a lot of the kids, both visually impaired and blind, have never been able to participate in a team sport, and this was the first. And it didn't really get big, but then there was beep baseball and this came out in the early '70s. [Beeping]. Paschall: I hope I can get this off. Do you want to try? If not, you can roll it out. There, you've got a magic touch. And the way this is played is there are six out fielders, but there's only two bases. It would be like the first base on a regular diamond and a third base. And the pitcher is on your side and it's timing. You've got to work with your pitcher to be able to hit it. And then there's an umpire and there's buzzers on the base, so the out field doesn't know which base is going to buzz, nor does the runner. So they turn the base on and they have to get to the buzzing base, the runner, after a hit before the out field can pick up the ball and hold it up over their head. Baltisberger: Yeah. And there's blind tennis now. Paschall: Yes, there is. Baltisberger: That's become more and more popular. Paschall: And this is-- this is a blind tennis ball. And everybody-- this baffles everyone more than anything I could ever explain. Blind people playing tennis! Well, the court is smaller, this ball has the sound source, it doesn't bounce as fast. You use a regular tennis racquet. When you're blind you get three. The scoring is exactly the same. And I'm a certified annual tennis court-- tennis not player, but coach, several years ago. So, it's gone to the Paralympics, but this is something that can you do with your students, maybe have a week of adaptive sports and get with your TVI. And these-- if there's a teacher of the visually impaired, she can-- they're probably available somewhere pretty close. Baltisberger: So Joe, we're kind of running out of time. Paschall: Okay. Baltisberger: I know you have a lot more stuff to show us. One of the things I know you said was kind of an essential for a student with a visual impairment in PE class is the target, the auditory-- what did you call it? Paschall: The beeper. Baltisberger: Beeper, yeah. Paschall: This is American-- I feel like I'm on the home show. [ Laughter ]. This is American Printing House for the Blind. They have a multitude of products for the blind and visually impaired, but this is a beeper you can get up and tie it on to a basketball goal. You can use these-- in beep baseball they have bases that beep, but the wiring doesn't work all the time. So this is how this works. [Beeping] And you can make it-- [Beeping faster]. Go faster-- [Beeping even faster]. And it helps. It helps in all kinds of sports. And also we had mentioned the fitness gram. I think the fitness gram is really a good test and it's manageable for students that are visually impaired, but they don't-- they throw it out-- we do that and we're required, but they don't average it in with the kids that are sighted. So, I don't really understand that, but the components in the test are excellent. The only-- there's a couple of things and I haven't done one for a couple of years. I retired a year and a half ago, but I'm still here just about everyday. But I think it's the-- you can use these for the kids when they run back and forth and touch it. So this is one. Baltisberger: Okay. So Joe, we're pretty much-- we're almost out of time here, but I did want to-- there are a couple of things I wanted to touch with everybody, looking at resources, because you're talking about some things here. [ Slide start: ] Description Start: Title: Content: Description End: And a lot of this, some of these are available through American Printing House for the Blind, but there are some other companies that supply things. And your handout has-- there's a handout that has a lot of companies that will provide these materials. There's also some really good books on adapting games and activities for people with visual impairments. [ Slide end: ] Keep in mind also, those of you out there that are working in public schools, that we can provide-- the outreach department typically does consultations with schools in developing programs for students with visual impairment. We usually get called out for like academic areas, but really PE is an area we could talk about, we could come out and help you guys if you wanted to have Joe ‑‑ Paschall: I would-- I've done it before. I did it before I retired. I miss it. But I've got to show them this, Scott, sorry. This is a beep kick ball [Beeping]. I had to show this. [ Laughter ]. Baltisberger: One final thing is keep in mind that there's also what's called off‑campus PE, off‑campus physical education. So your student, if you do-- at any rate, I've noticed they did like rock climbing, they did canoeing, they did bowling. I know you can get PE credit in the high school, kids that are high school age, they can do that. So that is another option. Paschall: And we do have an adaptive rail, a guide rail, and that works beautifully. So if-- if any parent is interested in that, we have them here. In fact, my friend's son made us the rail for a social work project. Baltisberger: Okay. Well, thanks, everybody, for joining us today and thank you, Joe, for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us. Baltisberger: Thank you. Baltisberger: And... so long. Paschall: Good‑bye. [Silence] Fade up from black. Animation: Text for TSBVI transform into braille cells for TSBVI. Fade to black.