GoGirlGo! Curriculum Adapting the Curriculum for Girls with Disabilities

With a little advance planning, the GoGirlGo! curriculum can be adapted for girls with various disabilities. Here are some general suggestions.

For example, if your girls are running or walking outside, make sure a paved pathway with curb cuts is available for individuals with physical disabilities.

Many individuals with disabilities know what they can do, but just want to be included in activities. If an individual with a disability is in the group, ask her what she can do and adapt the exercises for her.

Adaptations to activities that require standing, running or walking Blind or visually impaired: Tether girl to a seeing individual or have her hold someone’s elbow. Wheelchair: The girl should be encouraged to push herself. If the girl with a disability is unable to push herself, ask her if she would like to be pushed. For example, a girl in a wheelchair may lean to the left, back to the middle, and lean to the right in a wheelchair rather than doing it while standing. She may do a version of jumping jacks that uses only the arms, or instead of sit-ups, she might lift a book over her head and then back down (something weighted) while she is frozen during a game of “Green Light Red Light”. Deaf or hearing impaired: Use hand gestures when you want the group to stop, go, etc. Make sure there is an interpreter if possible.

Adaptations to GoGirlGo! Tennis Adaptive Tennis: http://www.usta.com/Play-Tennis/Adaptive-Tennis/Adaptive/?intloc=footernavsub Wheelchair Tennis: http://www.usta.com/Play-Tennis/Wheelchair- Tennis/Wheelchair/?intloc=footernavsub

Adaptations to culminating activity at the conclusion of the program As part of the physical activity during the final culminating event, everyone could participate in the adapted way as well as the “able-bodied” way. For example, if your physical activity is a volleyball game, one game is played standing up, but the second game, you lower the net and play sitting volleyball the adapted way.

Helpful links for adapting physical activities and sports Adapted yoga: http://www.ncpad.org/disability/fact_sheet.php?sheet=345§ion=2059 Basketball: National Wheelchair Basketball Association: www.nwba.org Dance: www.fullradiusdance.org Dance: http://americandancewheels.org/ Fitness & Strength Training (ADAPT- used by several Paralympic Athletes to strengthen and protect muscles): http://www.adapttraining.com Gymnastics: Break the Barriers gymnastics: http://www.breakthebarriers.org/gymnastics#!__gymnastics Nub Ability (sports for limb loss): http://nubability.org/ Sled Hockey Female: http://www.usahockey.com/players/disabled.aspx Sitting Volleyball: www.sittingvolleyball.org Wheelchair Dancing: http://www.wheelchairdancesportusa.org/WELCOME_TO_WEEHCHAIR_DANCE.html Wheelchair Softball: http://www.wheelchairsoftball.org

Role Models - Champion female athletes with disabilities The curriculum introduces girls to champion female athletes. During the life of the program there have been several female athletes with disabilities included in the curriculum:

Cheri Becerra-Madsen – Track & Field (paraplegic) Tamika Catchings – Basketball (hearing impaired) Pam Fernandes – Cycling (blind) Aimee Mullins – Track & Field (double below the knee amputee) Mary Riddell – skiing (paraplegic) Sarah Will – skiing (paraplegic)

You can find their stories at: http://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/home/programs/gogirlgo/curriculum/gogirlgo-curriculum- additional-resources-past-stories

There are many more female athletes with disabilities that would be excellent role models:

Basketball: Becca Murray, Desiree Miller, Sarah Castle, Stephanie Wheeler, Christina Ripp, Alana Nichols (also an accomplished skier) Also, check out the basketball programs at: University of Arizona: http://drc.arizona.edu/athletics_women_basketball/introduction University of Illinois: http://www.disability.illinois.edu/athletics/womens-wheelchair-basketball University of Whitewater-Wisconsin: http://www.uww.edu/recsports/wcathletics/womens/index.html University of Alabama: http://uads.weebly.com/womens-team.html

Motocross: Ashley Fiolek

Powerlifting: Mary Stack

Sailing: Jennifer French

Skiing: Alana Nichols, Danelle Umstead

Swimming: Jessica Long, Erin Popovich, Melissa Stockwell, Mallory Weggemann

Tennis: Karin Korb, Esther Vergeer

Track & Field: Jessica Galli, April Holmes, Anjali Forbes-Pratt, Tatyana McFadden

Triathlon, Duathlon, Hand Cycling: Tricia Downing, Amy Palmiero-Winters

One suggestion is to pair a champion female athlete with disabilities with the presented athlete in each session (if the presented athlete is able-bodied). This is a way to educate the able-bodied girls about individuals with disabilities.

General Resources Little People of America: http://www.lpaonline.org/mc/page.do;jsessionid=DECD506C0013718C67FAF2B122DD286E.mc0?sitePa geId=37298 National Sports Center for the Disabled: www.nscd.org US Paralympics: www.usparalympics.org United States Association of Blind Athletes: http://www.usaba.org/ Wheelchair & Ambulatory Sports, USA: www.wasusa.org

Thanks to Darlene Hunter, Ph.D. and the members of the 2012 USA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team for their assistance with this resource.