Adapting Activities

 PUSHLiving wrote an article about how to adapt activities for children who use wheelchairs. In this article, they discuss activities such as modified sports, modified games, wheelchair races, obstacle courses, wheelchair dancing, and ball tossing. Many of these activities were modified in a way that allows for inclusion. My favorite example given makes musical chairs inclusive. Instead of using chairs, the article suggested using mats placed on the floor. This allows children not in a wheelchair to stand in a designated spot, but it also allows for children in wheelchairs to be able to participate in a classic, and frequently played, game. Modification to activities does not only have the physical benefits that one would associate with active participation, however. There is also a social component involved. When children with disabilities are able to participate in group and team activities, it teaches them team building and allows them to make friends. I also think that it provides and opportunity for children without a disability to see that they are all similar having differences is not a bad thing.

I chose to look into this article because one of my interests is pediatrics, and I also have an interest in adaptive sports. I think this article was helpful in providing insight into basic modifications that can be a game changer. This information will be useful to me in the future as well. For me, it opened up my eyes to thinking about the fact that games should be inclusive, and not just modified or adaptive. As a future OT, I will need to take into consideration what games all abilities can play. This will allow me to incorporate the occupation of social participation in addition to the occupation of play.

PUSHLiving. (n.d.). Adapting activities for young children in wheelchairs. https://pushliving.com/adapating-activities-for-young-children-in-wheelchairs/