Carin Chesser, NISD Adapted Physical Education Specialist Provides Individualized Physical Education Instruction For Students With Disabilities

Carin Chesser, APE Specialist, has a Bachelor’s in Kinesiology. M. Ed in Special Education and has been teaching since 2009. She has taught 8 years in ALE (Applied Learning Environment) and 6 years in English Language Arts while also 3 years coaching and teaching. This is her first year teaching Adapted Physical Education. Miss Chesser recently presented at the Annual Alamo Adapted PE Conference for Adapted PE, presenting five strategies for success in middle school sports. She has gone undefeated as the head middle school soccer coach for NISD and was the runner-up for the H-E-B of Excellence Teaching Award for KISD. She was also a grant winner, obtaining iPads for her classroom, and has been featured in the Modern English Teacher Magazine, writing an article, “Gender Differences in the Classroom,” published in 2014. Miss Chesser has been featured in Business Innovators Magazine “Covid-19 Alerts – 5 Compelling Reasons Why Consistency Is Key For Parents And Children That Are Staying At Home During Covid-19, From A Middle School Teacher And Coach’s Point Of View“

In this interview with Business Innovators, APE Specialist Carin Chesser shares insights into the world of Adaptive Physical Education. She explains how she focuses on the individual needs of her students while designing customized programs for Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, TX, and points out what it takes to be successful in the role they have given her.

Providing 20 standards she upholds and lives by daily while teaching academic, social, and life skills to middle school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments, students who are deaf or have hearing impairments, and students with intellectual disabilities.

What is an APE Specialist?

An Adapted PE Specialist, also called an Adapted Physical Education teacher, is a professional who provides individualized physical education instruction to students with disabilities. They tailor the activities and techniques to meet their specific needs and abilities, focusing on improving motor skills, physical fitness, and participation in sports and recreation activities. They also provide individualized physical education instruction or services to children, youth, or adults with exceptional physical needs due to gross motor developmental delays or other impairments.

4 Key Points About An Adapted PE Specialist: 

1. Focus on individual needs: They assess each student’s physical capabilities and develop personalized plans to address their unique challenges, including intellectual disabilities, orthopedic issues, visual impairments, or autism. 

2. Adapting activities: They modify traditional physical education activities or use specialized equipment to ensure students can participate effectively. 

3. Collaboration with other professionals: They work closely with teachers, therapists, and parents to coordinate the student’s educational plan. 

4. Skill set: Besides teaching physical skills, they must possess a strong knowledge of developmental delays, motor learning principles, and effective communication strategies to support students with diverse needs. 

• Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
• Active Learning — Understanding new information’s implications for current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Miss Chesser upholds and lives by 20 standards daily while teaching academic, social, and life skills to middle school students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities.

1. Review adapted physical education programs or practices to ensure government or other regulations compliance.
2. Request or order physical education equipment, following standard procedures.
3. Write reports summarizing student performance, social growth, or physical development.
4. Attend in-service training, workshops, or meetings to stay current on current practices or trends in adapted physical education.
5. Write or modify individualized education plans (IEPs) for students with intellectual or physical disabilities.
6. Provide students with positive feedback to encourage them and help them develop an appreciation for physical education.
7. Provide individual or small groups of students with adapted physical education instruction that meets desired physical needs or goals.
8. Prepare lesson plans in accordance with individualized education plans (IEPs) and students’ functional abilities or needs.
9. Maintain thorough student records to document attendance, participation, or progress, ensuring confidentiality of all records.
10. Maintain inventory of instructional equipment, materials, or aids.
11. Evaluate the motor needs of individual students to determine their need for adapted physical education services.
12. Establish and maintain standards of behavior to create safe, orderly, and effective environments for learning.
13. Communicate behavioral observations and student progress reports to students, parents, teachers, or administrators.
14. Assist in screening or placement of students in adapted physical education programs.
15. Assess students’ physical progress or needs.
16. Advise education professionals of students’ physical abilities or disabilities and the accommodations required to enhance their school performance.
17. Adapt instructional techniques to the age and skill levels of students.
18. Provide adapted physical education services to students with intellectual disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, orthopedic impairments, or other disabling conditions.
19. Instruct students using adapted physical education techniques to improve their physical fitness, gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, or sports and game achievement.
20. Collaborate with other educational personnel to provide inclusive activities or programs for children with disabilities.

With these 20 standards combined, she raises the bar on all her teaching practices while providing students of all abilities with the enjoyment and flexibility to thrive! She is dedicated to being a voice for those who may not speak while continuing to press forward toward a bigger movement: inclusivity for all!

Now, Carin Chesser is a contributing author to the fourth volume of the International, National best-selling Landed For Success book series.

Chapter Three: THE MAGIC OF WORDS – “We create what we speak”

Carin Chesser and her father, Dr. Tom Chesser, reflected on the significance of positive reinforcement in their communications of self-esteem-related growth and development. When working with her students who have special needs, it was highly evident that the words spoken to them reflected their demeanor and attitude.

People can know us by what we speak. In Luke 6:45, Jesus says that people can be judged by what they say and do because these things reveal what is really inside the person: “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” If you want to know what is inside a person, you watch his actions and listen to what comes out of his mouth regularly. This is not being judgmental; this is being realistic. If a person is angry, rude, lewd, or immoral regularly, you can be assured that this is what he is like “on the inside.” If a person is consistently kind, encouraging, and polite, then you can be sure that is what he is like “on the inside.” Of course, it is possible that someone might put up a façade to deceive others regarding his character, but eventually, what is inside will come out. The mouth speaks out of the abundance—the overflow—of the heart. Words slip out of our mouths, and then we can’t take them back once they have been spoken. Every one of us has regretted some of the things we have said. We have thought, “I wish I hadn’t said that!” or, “I’ll never say that again!” We thrive when we are affirmed and encouraged, but cutting remarks devastate us, and we try to cope with life without outwardly showing how words have destroyed us on the inside. Being raised by alcoholic, abusive parents, I often felt like I couldn’t do anything right to please them. Frequently hearing such things as “You were a mistake” and “You’re hopeless!” “You idiot!” “You’ll never do any good!” or, “Why can’t you be like your brother/sister?”

Those affirmations may come from parents who may not even realize the damage that those comments caused the child. They adversely affect the child right into adulthood. They amount to curses spoken unwittingly over their children. A little rhyme children sometimes say in an attempt to protect themselves goes like this: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” This may sound very brave, but unfortunately, it is not true. Some people have been so devastated by the words of others that their whole lives are in ruins. The tragedy is that the other people may be completely unaware of the harm their words

have inflicted. Most of us can look back and remember how words spoken by others have deeply wounded us. The problem is that we are left with the scars in our soul. We must cope with the effects left behind in our lives, often many years later. We need to be healed of the effects of destructive words spoken to us or by us. We cannot ignore them because they continue to do their deadly work. God is the One who knows how to heal those scars.

However, there is good news. Another side to the picture. And this is the good news! Our words also have incredible power to build up and heal. That is why we need to become aware of what we speak and allow God to help us change destructive habits of speech that come from us.

We can learn to speak life into others by using these four principles. Ask ourselves these questions:

1. What will be the consequences of what I say? Positive or negative?
2. Is there any hint of poison in what I want to say?
3. Is what I am about to say going to encourage or discourage people?
4. Will what I say help the person to grow, or will it have the opposite effect?

To learn more information, feel free to email Carin Chesser at carinc20@gmail.com,