Summertime Physical Activity Opportunities for Youths with Visual Impairments and Their Families

Abstract

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011) recommends that children and adolescents participate in at least one hour of physical activity per day. Now that the school year has finished and school-based physical activity opportunities have come to a halt, it becomes essential for families to provide opportunities for children to be physically active. This commentary will discuss sports camps for individuals with visual impairments and physical activities for families as options to engage children and adolescents with visual impairments in the recommended amount of daily physical activity. SUMMER CAMPS THAT ENCOURAGE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Summer sports camps are a way of life for many school-aged individuals in the developed world. This seasonal tradition is no different for school-aged individuals with visual impairments, since the availability of sport-related camp experiences designed specifically for individuals with visual impairments has increased substantially over the past 20 years. For example, Camp Abilities, a one week developmental sports camp for children with visual impairments, has grown to encompass more than 2,000 children and teenagers in over 22 locations in the United States and Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Finland, and Ireland over the past 18 years (Lieberman, Lepore, & Haegele, in press). Other sports camps (for example, sports education camps) are also spread across the United States and contribute to the physical activity education of students with visual impairments during the summer months. There are numerous benefits to participating in summer sports camps for individuals with visual impairments. They provide physical activity opportunities by introducing sports specifically designed for individuals with visual impairments (goalball and beep baseball, for example), modified sports, and recreational opportunities. In addition, such camps provide students the tools they need to be more involved in physical activities during the school year. Prior to attending summer sports camps, many students with visual impairments are unsure of their ability to participate in physical activities. This sentiment tends to change, however, as they gain experience with a variety of sports, learn about modifications that can be applied to various sports, and participate in discussions about how to advocate for themselves. Many athletes with visual impairments leave summer sports camps with information about afterschool and community-based sports and recreation activities that they can participate in throughout the year. The knowledge students gain about advocacy methods and modifications for physical activities allow them to participate more effectively and be successfully included in sports. In addition, many of the advocacy tools and modification strategies can be applied during the school year in physical education classes, furthering the ability of students to advocate for themselves. Sports camps teach students with visual impairments what they can achieve in the areas of sports and recreation as evidenced by the fact that many former Camp Abilities participants have joined afterschool, community-based, and collegiate sports teams after completing several summers at camp. For more information on sports camps, please visit the following website: . More information on Camp Abilities, including contact information for each location around the globe, can also be found online: . PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE ECC There are many physical activities that families of children with visual impairments can participate in together during summertime. In addition to providing opportunities to be physically active, some of the activities we will describe can also contribute to aspects of the overall education of children with visual impairments. Recently, scholars identified the ways in which the nine components of the expanded core curriculum (ECC) can be met in physical education classes with proper planning (Lieberman, Haegele, Columna, & Conroy, 2014). …