While general education students have different teachers and classmates each year, students in the Individual Community Academic Program often have the same teacher and classmates for all four years of high school. So when LISD introduced Unified PE, it gave ICAP students a new way to make friends and meet people. Within the special education PE umbrella, the class pairs gen-ed students and students with disabilities.
“The coaches grew a strong relationship with our kids and we really pushed for [Unified PE] to start,” ICAP teacher Aaron Farrell said. “It’s been really great to have that social aspect and have our students begin to make friends with their gen-ed peers.”
For students like freshman Divij Sai Nalla, who is non-vocal, Unified PE became a way to communicate with peers who didn’t always know how to talk with them.
“Even though he can’t speak, he’s able to have friends now,” Farrell said. “He will bring his device to them and start speaking to them on it.”
Students like Sai Nalla utilize augmentative and alternative communication devices, tablets or laptops with built-in words and speakers.
“There can be hardships with communicating, but it’s been a really good learning experience for me,” junior Vanessa Bonilla Garcia said. “It’s very interesting to see how different everyone’s lives are. Everyone is very supportive.”
For gen-ed students like Bonilla Garcia, it has shown how life is often not accessible to those with disabilities, visible or not.
“Some people use wheelchairs and some have mobility issues, so it has made me more aware of how many buildings need to become more accessible,” Bonilla Garcia said. “Not everyone can use [stairs]. It’s definitely changed my life. I’m now thinking ‘how can we fix this?’ I’m more aware of certain design choices in buildings.”
For sophomore Patrick Secord, his initial dislike of PE changed last year, after making friends through the program.
Farrell believes Unified PE has improved his students’ school experiences and helped them build friendships.
“It’s just really great for so many of our students,” Farrell said.