What's New in Adapted Physical Education

In this episode, Amanda Young from Cal State Long Beach leads a conversation with Lanita Yarborough, a bilingual speech-language pathologist and assistant professor at Texas Christian University, about the practical and ethical dimensions of collaboration between speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and APE specialists. The discussion emphasizes how intentional partnership, co-treatment, and classr...

In this episode of the What's New in APE podcast, we dive into a topic that is rarely named out loud in PE and APE: fear. Drawing on a recent qualitative study by Dr. Fabian Arroyo-Rojas (Hofstra University) and his co-author Dr. Justin Haegele (Old Dominion University), our conversation explored how fear shapes the day-to-day practices of PE teachers working with disabled students. More specifica...

In this episode of What’s New in Adapted Physical Education, we had a conversation with Ballie Ollila, a doctoral student at Old Dominion University, about her research examining Unified Physical Education and Unified Sports programs. Her systematic review, “Special Olympics’ UnifiedSports and Physical Education Programming: A Systematic Review”, recently published in Quest, found that despite the...

In this episode, we talked with Dr. Ally Keene, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at Elizabeth City State University, about her journey into Adapted Physical Education (APE) and her dissertation on co-producing resources with blind young adults. Her dissertation centered on co-production, a collaborative research approach involving disabled individuals as equal partners. Working alongside three b...

In this episode of What's New in APE, Dr. Lauren Lieberman joins the CSLUB scholars and professors (Dr. Lavay, Young, and Bittner) to discuss her remarkable career and lifelong dedication to promoting inclusive physical activity. From her early experiences at Perkins School for the Blind to her groundbreaking work founding Camp Abilities, Dr. Lieberman reflects on how accessible physical education...

In this episode of What's New in APE, Dr. Lauren Lieberman joins the CSLUB scholars and professors (Dr. Lavay, Young, and Bittner) to discuss her remarkable career and lifelong dedication to promoting inclusive physical activity. From her early experiences at Perkins School for the Blind to her groundbreaking work founding Camp Abilities, Dr. Lieberman reflects on how accessible physical education...

In this exciting episode of What's New in APE, Scott McNamara is joined by co-authors Dr. Wesley Wilson and David Woo to unpack their recent article examining the legal interpretation of adapted physical education (APE) under U.S. law. Together, they explore how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has been applied in federal court cases since 2004, revealing that parents prevail...

The What’s New in Adapted Physical Education podcast kicks off its 10th season with a very special episode with Special Guest hosts Dr. Barry Lavay and Dr. Melissa Bittner (CSU-Long Beach), who are joined by Dr. Kristi Roth, full professor at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and co-author of the widely used textbook Principles and Methods of Adapted Physical Education and Recreation. This...

Welcome to a new episode of What's New in APE! As many listeners know, there is a nationwide shortage of highly qualified APE teachers who are prepared to meet the diverse needs of these students. This is where the importance of targeted federal funding, such as that provided by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), comes into sharp focus. In this episode...

In this episode of What's New in Adapted Physical Education, we sit down with Dr. David Adams from Humboldt University. Dr. Adams, a graduate of Texas Woman's University, shares his journey from working at an Autism Center to leading a federally funded APE program at Humboldt. He then dives into his passion for action-based research, explaining how it empowers teachers to systematically meet the d...

In this episode, Dr. Maria Lepore-Stevens, from Rowan University, shares how she’s expanding health education within the realm of disability. In this discussion, we explore the concept of "adapted" health education in relation to teaching health education and students with disabilities. Dr. Lepore-Stevens points out the lack of guidance in health education around teaching children with disabilitie...

Welcome to the latest episode of "What's New in Adapted Physical Education," where we delve into the world of Adapted Physical Education (APE) through engaging conversations with professionals shaping the field. In this episode, Drs. Barry Lavay and Melissa Bittner (CSLUB) sit down with Dr. Terry Rizzo, a distinguished scholar from California State University- San Bernadino to explore his journey,...

Welcome back to another exciting episode of What's New in Adapted Physical Education (APE) where we sat down with Dr. Adam Forbes, a new faculty member at Norfolk State University, to discuss his insights and research on parental perceptions of APE and the critical role parents play in enhancing these services. In these conversations, Dr. Forbes emphasized that parental involvement is key to the s...

In this special episode of What's New in APE, Special Guest host Dr. Barry Lavay (CSU-Long Beach) is joined by APE graduate scholars Greg and Kendall to interview Matt Barker, a veteran APE teacher from Fairfax County, Virginia. Together, they delve into Matt’s journey into APE, his innovative initiatives, and the strategies he employs to enhance the learning experiences of his students with disab...

Welcome back to What's New in Adapted Physical Education, where we shine a light on trailblazers in the field of adapted physical education (APE). In this episode, we interview Nicole McCoy (@NMcCoy_APE ), an APE teacher in Lancaster, Pennsylvania about how she has transformed her teaching by integrating innovative assistive technologies. Her work exemplifies the power of creativity, collaboration...

In the latest episode of What's New in APE, we interviewed Dr. Nicole Kirk, an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, about their journey and research in Adapted Physical Education (APE). Dr. Kirk shared how they initially stumbled into APE through their background in judo and theater in Chicago, when they began working with a student with Down syndrome. This experience ignited their pa...

We’re excited to launch a brand-new season of What’s New in Adapted Physical Education (APE) with a fresh, research-to-practice focus. Starting with this season, we’ll be releasing episodes every two weeks, each centered on in-depth topics that spotlight how research can directly support and enhance practical teaching strategies in the field. In our latest episode, host Scott McNamara welcomes Bra...

Hello to the What's New in Adapted PE listeners! We have been on a little bit of a hiatus for the last few months as we felt it was time to rethink the direction of the podcast and give it a fresh focus. Over the past few months, we've been reflecting on how to make the content more impactful, and decided to take a more focused approach. We will be attempting to create "seasons" where we’ll be zer...

This podcast episode features an interview of Chris Ahrens of the San Diego Unified School District. After graduating from SUNY Brockport with a degree in physical education and completing a master’s program on an OSEP grant, he has spent the last 15 years working in various positions in the San Diego Unified School District until he reached the position of lead APE teacher. They discussed the way...

This episode featured a discussion between three emeritus professors in the APE space on the past, present, and future of APE. Dr. Garth Tymeson worked as a professor of APE at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse. Dr. Dale Ulrich is a retired professor from the University of Michigan that created the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD) that evaluates the gross motor function of children. F...

This podcast episode featured two APE professionals interviewing Dr. French, who has been a professor in APE for many years. Dr. French credits the beginning of his journey with APE to his parent’s philosophy on diversity and inclusion, which led him to UCLA where he studied what is now called adapted physical education. Dr. French has co-authored many textbooks used in the APE space on subjects l...

This podcast featured an interview lead by Dr. Amanda Young and her Master students from California State University, Long Beach, where they interview educators in the APE field about working with students with behavioral issues. Specifically, one guest works as an APE specialist for charter schools in California, and the one teaches PE at an alternative school for special education in Vermont. Th...

The podcast episode featuring professors from various universities discussing PhD programs in Adapted Physical Education (APE). Dr. Andrew Pitchford from Oregon State University started by highlighting the importance of their interdisciplinary connections between the adapted physical activity program and other departments, such as the Psychological Science Program and the global health department....

The podcast episode featuring educators from various universities discussing graduate programs in Adapted Physical Education (APE) continues with an exploration of challenges and opportunities facing these programs. This episode features an insightful discussion with representatives from four outstanding APE graduate programs across the United States. Dr. Ali Brian kicks things off, representing t...

In this episode of What's New in Adapted Physical Education we have special guest hosts podcast Dr. Brock McMullen and Dr. Garth Tymeson (UW-Lacrosse) who interview three parents - Marlis, Pam, and Andrea - about their experiences with adapted physical education for their children with disabilities. Each parent represents children at different ages and places within the APE and special education p...