The adapted physical activity as a valuable tool to overcome social prejudice to the disabled persons

Abstract

The Adapted Physical Activity, in modern times, is defined as the program with an educative target so it promotes the autonomous recovery of the person through direct experience of physicality (Cottini, 2008). The ICF (WHO, 2001) is a guide achieving this objective because it defines disability as the product of the relationship between the health of the person and the context in which he lives. The context creates disability because it doesn’t have the appropriate tools to allow the free expression of the person for the different life contexts (Cottini, 2008). Finally the “conquest” consists in the implementation of Adapted Physical Activity. This activity is expressed in the manipulation of the physical context according to the various needs of the person to improve all their dimensions. The TMA test is the methodology used to evaluate the functionality of Adapted Physical Activity to empower the global person’s self-esteem. This instrument has favored a primary monitoring to understand the initial condition of the four disabled, involved in the research work, and the whole class group. The results obtained in this first phase were classified as negative according to the American standardized sample. The test had determined how the global self-esteem of the disabled person was influenced by his conditions of marginalization determined by the prejudice that limited action. The A.P.A., during the hours of physical education, has facilitated the achievement of positive results compared to those of departure. These results represent a practical demonstration of how prejudice is an abstract entity resulting from the lack of people knowledge. In any case the activity has placed all subjects on the same plane to achieve a performance, a common target. The person’s improvement is the starting point in the understanding of this work.