“Biking? Let’s Make it Happen!”: Cycling Intervention to Enhance Motor Skills, Social Interaction and Inclusion of Pupils with Autism and other Special Needs

Abstract

This article draws from a specific sporting intervention carried out by Dinamiks and Inncredu professionals during 2017-2018 season at Paidea School, a Special Education School setting in Barcelona, Catalonia. The intervention was undertaken as a form of sporting activities related to cycling. The main objective of the intervention was to assess the factual implementation of BTTEA project principles in an out of school placement. The theoretical patterns were established following a comprehensive literature review and BTTEA basic guidelines in order to disseminate them among PE Teachers and training institutions. The BTTEA program was integrated in a more complex educational project called SPORTEA, which aims to raise awareness about the need of implementing active leisure initiative for pupils with special needs to fight high levels of sedentary behaviour. The project gained local community partnership and collaborated with four regional councils. The study was carried out in order to reinforce the importance of improving Physical Education towards a Quality Physical Education patterns (Castillo, Solà & Sebastiani, 2015). In the process, attention to diversity and special needs were crucial in order to make Physical Education useful and meaningful for society.

Full text

FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE D´ÉDUCATION PHYSIQUE
Physical Education and Sport for
Children and Youth with Special Needs
Researches – Best Practices – Situation
Gheorghe Balint
Branislav Antala
Catherine Carty
Jean-Marie Aleokol Mabiémé
Imen Ben Amar
Adriana Kaplánová
Editors
Bratislava 2021

Physical Education and Sport for Children and Youth with Special Needs: Researches -
Best Practices – Situation
Editors:
Gheorghe BALINT (Romania)
Branislav ANTALA (Slovakia)
Catherine CARTY (Ireland)
Jean-Marie Aleokol MABIÉMÉ (Cameroun)
Imen Ben AMAR (Tunisia)
Adriana KAPLÁNOVÁ (Slovakia)
Reviewers:
Low Hui MIN - lowhm@usm.my
Jong Hui YING - jonghuiying@usm.my
Lu JING-HORNG - frankjlu@gmail.com
Thariq Khan bin AZIZUDDIN KHAN - thariq@fsskj.upsi.edu.my
Dario NOVAK - dario.novak@kif.hr
Gheorghe BALINT - gyuri68@hotmail.com
Tatiana BALINT - balint.tatiana@gmail.com
Catherine CARTY - Catherine.Carty@staff.ittralee.ie
Sinda AYACHI - sinda.ayachi@gmail.com
Dana MASARYKOVÁ - dana.masarykova@truni.sk
Pavel ŠMELA - pavel.smela@uniba.sk
Ali ELLOUMI - Alielloumi62@gmail.com
Publisher:
Slovak Scientific Society for Physical Education and Sport and FIEP
Printed by:
KO & KA spol.s.r.o. Tlačiareň K – print, Kadnárova 102, Bratislava, Slovakia
Book – Jacket:
Anton LEDNICKÝ (Slovakia): anton.lednicky@uniba.sk
Circulation:
584 pages, 100 copies, 1st edition
ISBN
978-80-89075-99-7
Note:
No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the authors

Table of Contents
__________________________________________________________________________________
Table of Contents
Introduction 9
RESEARCHES
Health-related Physical Fitness of Hungarian Youth with Special Educational Needs –
Cross-sectional Comparison with Typical Developing Children in a Representative
Sample
Katalin Kälbli - Mónika Kaj - Anita Király - Márta Szmodis – László Révész - Tamás Csányi 13
Opinions of Secondary School Students from Slovakia on Inclusive Education in
Physical and Sport Education
Michal Průžek - Branislav Antala – Iveta Cihová – Ľubor Tománek – Krešimir Hrg 27
Disentangling Inclusive Primary Physical Education from the Teachers’ Perspective
Claude Scheuer – Sandra Heck – Susan Marron – Frances Murphy – Vasiliki Pitsia 37
Aquatic programme on Swimming Skills in Children with Autism:
Longitudinal Study
Marta Campanella - Valentina Cortella - Amalia Tinto 49
Identification of Leisure Time Activities for Children with Special Needs and of
Occupational Intervention Strategies
Ciocan Vasile Cătălin 55
Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills of Healthy Population and Children with
Developmental Disabilities
Nikolina Kudelić - Ivan Prskalo 67
Problems of Parents and their Children with Developmental Dysphasia
in Kindergarten
Jelena Zorić - Jelena Petrović 77
Motor Coordination, Physical Activity Levels and Self-Perception in Italian Children
with Obesity: Methodological Implications for Adapted Physical Activity at School
Dario Colella - Domenico Monacis - Cristina d’Arando 93
Effects of Dog Therapy and Physical Activity on Correction of Emotional and
Behavioral State in Young People with Complex Disability
Monika Jurciute - Kestutis Skucas - Vaida Pokvytyte – Kristina Venckuniene - Ausrine
Packeviciute - Vida Ostaseviciene 105
Exploring the Relationship between Physical Activity and Executive Function in
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review
Domenico Monacis - Cristina d’Arando - Nicola Mancini - Dario Colella 115

Physical Education and Sport for Children and Youth with Special Needs
__________________________________________________________________________________
Physical Activity and Sport Participation among Persons with Disabilities
in Malaysia: Motivation and Constraint
Eng Hoe Wee - Resa Anak Billie - Tah Fatt Ong - Kang Mea Kee – Hui Yin Ler –
Ngien Siong Chin - Sri Widati 125
Physical Activity in Students with Hearing Disabilities during Physical Education
Class and Recess Period
Javier Arturo Hall-López - Paulina Yesica Ochoa-Martínez – Edgar Ismael Alarcón-Meza 137
Against all Odds: Exploring the Resilience of Rural and Township Schools in
Maintaining a Quality Physical Education Program
Engela van der Klashorst – Janine Botha – Michelle Damasio – Leepile C. Motlhaolwa –
Eloise Nel - Phaswana E. Ntshengedzeni 145
Dermatoglyphic Fingerprinting and Somatotype in Blind Athletes from San Luis
Potosi Mexico
Manuel Guerrero Zainos - Antonio Eugenio Rivera Cisneros – Juan Martín Castillo
Cardona 153
Primary School Physical Education Teachers’ Efficacy towards Inclusive Education
Programme Classrooms in Malaysian Context
Kie Yin Teng – Kee Jiar Yeo –Chia Yin Cindy Lee – Ngien Siong Chin 163
Collaborative Relations among Final-phase Exercise Therapist Rehabilitating
Younger Patients in South Africa
Ellapen Terry Jeremy - Swanepoel Mariette - Pienaar Anita - Strydom Gert Lukas –
Paul Yvonne - Doherty Bernelee 177
Validation of Side-Stepping and Split Jump Tests for CP Football
Cláudio Diehl Nogueira - José Irineu Gorla 187
Physical Activity and Dyslipidemias in Children with Cerebral Palsy
Antonio Eugenio Rivera-Cisneros - Manuel Guerrero-Zainos – Gabriela Murguía-Cánova -
Yesenia Lara-Mayorga – Juan Antonio Rivera-Ríos - Gloria Vargas-Sánchez – Ricardo Félix-
Inguanzo - Felipe Horacio Gómez-Ballesteros – Geoffrey Recorder Renteral 199
The effect of Partial Integration between the Mentally Handicapped, who are Able to
Learn and the Normal Ones, on the Development of Interaction Social and Emotional,
and Learn Some Basic Skills in Football
Hany El-Desouky Ibrahim 209
Effect of Exercises on the Physical and Functional Fitness among Down Syndrome:
A Review
Wan Zhen Lee - Garry Kuan 223
The Effects of Cranial Loading among Bucolic Female African Children Neuro-
musculoskeletal Health and Well-being: A Literature Overview (2000-2018)
Kurten Marijke - Motaung Gladwell Tebogo - Ellapen Terry Jeremy - Paul Yvonne –
Muluvhu Takalani Clarence - Barnard Marco - Hammill Henriette Valerie 233

Table of Contents
__________________________________________________________________________________
A Narrative Literature Review on Inclusive Primary Physical Education
Jackie Gallagher - Aisling Clardy - Sarah O’Malley - Sandra Heck – Claude Scheuer 245
A Review of Play Intervention for Children with ASD in School Setting
Hie Ping Joanna Ting - Kee Jiar Yeo 259
BEST PRACTICES
Best Practices in Physical Education and Sport for Singapore’s Children and Youth
with Special Needs
Govindasamy Balasekaran - Peggy Boey - Ng Yew Cheo 269
Considerations on Physical Activity and Health for People with Disabilities
José Irineu Gorla - Jéssica Reis Buratti - Cláudio Diehl Nogueira - Matheus Jancy
Bezerra Dantas - Ivaldo Brandão Vieira 279
The Application of Teaching Games for Understanding Using the Traditional Games
(TGfU) for Teaching Physical Education for Special Needs Children in Malaysia
Mohamad Fadil bin Ibrahim - Garry Kuan - Chin Ngien Siong 287
Implementing Practical Stretching Exercises for Malaysian Children with
Herniated Discs
Tan Shi Ting - Garry Kuan 299
The Center of Adapted Physical Activities as an Example of Best Practice in
the Czech Republic - Introduction, Vision and Inspiration
Ješina Ondřej - Kudláček Martin - Janečka Zbyněk - Mikeška Daniel - Vyhlídal Tomáš –
Baloun Ladislav - Botková Klára - Číháková Radka - Wittmannová Julie - Ješinová Lucie 307
Disabilities, Health, Free Time and Physical Activity: A Network Model for
Promoting Well-Being
Italo Sannicandro - Rosa Anna Rosa - Francesca D’Elia 315
Adapted Sports as an Instrument for Inclusion in the Physical Education Stage School
Josep Oriol Martínez-Ferrer - Enric Maria Sebastiani Obrador 327
Developing Positive Behaviour in Children with Special Needs through Adapted
Physical Activity: Three Best Practices
Vida Ostaseviciene - Aida Gaizauskiene - Diana Reklaitiene – Jurate Pozeriene –
Ineta Daniulienė - Agnė Benikė 337
Disentangling Inclusion in Physical Education Lessons: Developing a Resource
Toolkit for Teachers
Claude Scheuer - Erik Boot - Nicola Carse - Aisling Clardy – Jackie Gallagher - Sandra Heck -
Susan Marron - Lucio Martinez-Alvarez - Dana Masaryková - Paul McMillan –
Frances Murphy - Elinor Steel - Hans van Ekdom - Hannah Vecchione 343

Physical Education and Sport for Children and Youth with Special Needs
__________________________________________________________________________________
“Biking? Let’s Make it Happen!”: Cycling Intervention to Enhance Motor Skills,
Social Interaction and Inclusion of Pupils with Autism and other Special Needs
Augusti Castillo Cañiz - F. Dalmau Olivé 355
Teaching Outdoors for All: Increased Physical Activity as a Natural By-product
of the PAPPUS Program
Julie Wittmannová - Iva Klimešová 367
Examining Aquatic Instructional Methods for Children with Autism Spectrum
Disorder in Sarawak, Malaysia: A Case Study
Ngien Siong Chin – Nur Athirah Sapiee – Eng Hoe Wee – Garry Kuan – Kie Yin Teng 375
SITUATION
Adapted Physical Education in the United States: Policies and Practice
Wesley J. Wilson - K. Andrew R. Richards - Alyssa M. Trad - Kim C. Graber 385
Physical Education and Inclusive Education in Samoa: Challenges from
Policy to Practice
Suzie Schuster - Rasela Tufue - Dawn Rasmussen 395
Inclusion in Health and Physical Education, Exploring the Intended to
the Enacted: An Australian Case Study
Matthew Winslade - Greg Auhl 405
The Embodiment of Drumming for Special Needs Populations: The Applied
Perspective in Malaysia
Vincent Tee Wei Shen - Garry Kuan 417
Participation of Persons with Disabilities in Lebanon in Sports and Physical
Activities: Challenges and Perspectives for Development
Nadim Nassif 429
Physical Education and Sport for Children and Youth with Special Educational
Needs in Bulgaria
Stefka Djobova - Ivelina Kirilova 437
Physical Education of Children and Adolescents with Special Needs in Ukraine
Sergii Ivashchenko 447
Inclusive Language in Adapted Physical Education: Linking Disability Discourse
from Theory to Practice
Emma V. Richardson - Rebecca Foster - Louise Martin 455

Table of Contents
__________________________________________________________________________________
Kinesiological Education as the Precondition for the National Physical and Mental
Health
Ivan Prskalo - Jasna Kudek Mirošević - Mirjana Radetić-Paić 465
Development of Arm Wrestling of Persons with Injuries of the Musculoskeletal
System in the World and the Russian Federation
Igor Nikulin - Fеdor Sobyanin - Vadim Rabinovich - Elizaveta Bogacheva 475
Physical Education Inclusive for Children and Youth with Special Needs in Italy
Stefania Cazzoli 487
ARTICLES IN FRENCH
Articles en français
Education physique et sport de qualité au Sénégal et en Afrique subsaharienne:
une approche inclusive et d’intégration des personnes en situation de handicap
Djibril Seck - Gana Ndione - Mame Ngoné Bèye Mamadou Diallo – Amadou A. Sèye 499
La problematique d´une education physique inclusive en Afrique
Jean-Marie Aleokol Mabieme 509
Inclusion scolaire des élèves autistes en Tunisie: L’épreuve d’une séance de
l’éducation physique comme expérience réciproque
Rania Ghouaiel - Imen Ben Amar 519
Promotion de la pratique de l’EPS par les élèves en situation de handicap moteur
dans les collèges d’enseignement moyen au Sénégal
Ndione Gana - Cisse Abdoul Wahab - Beye Mame Ngone – Seck Djibril 531
Représentation de l’inclusion scolaire des enfants en situation de handicap:
cas des futurs enseignants d’éducation physique Tunisiens
Marwen Chaieb 543
Stratégies d’apprentissage, déficience intellectuelle et habiletés motrices
Regaieg Ghada - Sahli Sonia - Kermarrec Gilles 555
Education physique et sports inclusifs: révision de certains sports classiques,
affection et perspectives de développement dans les jeunes
De Marco Giovanna - Prunelli Vincenzo 565
L´éducation physique et le sport scolaire des enfants a besoin spécifiques: cas des
enfants déficients auditifs de l’Ecole spécialisée des enfants déficients auditifs
(ESEDA)
Messoco Agnès 575

Physical Education and Sport for Children and Youth with Special Needs
__________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction
__________________________________________________________________________________
9
Introduction
You are holding a book “Physical Education and Sport for Children and Youth with Special
Needs: Researches - Best Practices – Situation” prepared by FIEP.
The book is part of the 4th Physical Education World Wide Survey, which is carried out by
UNESCO in cooperation with FIEP and their partners. The publication is part of one of its lines,
focusing on mapping the basic characteristics of physical education and physical activities of
children and youth in the world at individual levels of schools, from pre-school education to
universities.
In 2017 the book "Physical Education in Primary School: Researches - Best Practices - Situation",
edited by D. Collela, B. Antala and S. Epifani, was published by Pensa Multimedia in Italy and
has 502 pages. 102 authors from 27 countries and 5 continents participated. In 2018, it was
followed by a publication "Physical Education in Secondary School: Researches - Best Practices -
Situation", published by the University of Montenegro in cooperation with the Montenegrin
Sport Academy. The editors were S.Popovič, B.Antala, D.Bjelica and J.Gardaševič. It had 343
pages and was prepared by 84 authors from 24 countries and 5 continents. The publication
"Physical Education in Early Childhood Education and Care: Researches - Best Practices -
Situation" was published in Slovakia by the Slovak Scientific Society for Physical Education and
Sport in 2019. Its editors were B. Antala, G. Demirhan, A. Carraro, C. Oktar, H. Oz and A.
Kaplánová. It had 464 pages. 120 authors from 32 countries from 5 continents participated. In
2020 a book “Physical Education in Universities: Researches - Best Practices -Situation” was
prepared also for celebration of 60th anniversary of Faculty of Physical Education and Sports
Comenius University in Bratislava in Slovakia where FIEP have already many years its European
seat. Book celebrated also 80th anniversary of Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology from
Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. Its editors were M. Bobrík, B. Antala and R.
Pělucha. 136 authors from 28 countries and five continents participated in the book.
A series of these 4th Physical Education World Wide Survey publications will continue in 2022
with the publication of "“Physical Education and Physical Activities of Children, Youth and
Adults and Healthy Active Living: Researches - Best Practices - Situation".
This book is divided into fourth parts. In the first part of the publication called "Researches", we
bring the latest research findings aimed at exploring the physical activity and sport of children
and youth with special needs. The second part, the “Best Practices” brings examples of good
practice from different countries of the world and the third part “Situation” is focused on
presenting knowledge related to the characteristics of the state of the issue in various countries in
the world. Last, fourth part of the book is focused on French language write articles. Due the
agreement between FIEP and CONFEJES, the book was open for articles write in French
language also. Eight articles, especially from African countries, are situated in this last part of the
book.
178 authors from 32 countries and five continents participated in the book, of which 18 were
European countries/regions (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, France, Hungary, Italy, Ireland,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain,
Ukraine, United Kingdom), 3 countries from America (Brazil, Mexico, USA), 4 countries from
Asia (Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Singapore), 5 countries from Africa (Cameroun, Egypt, RSA,
Senegal, Tunisia) and 2 countries from Oceania (Australia, Samoa). Therefore, the publication
brings a broad international perspective on the issue of physical education and sport of children
and youth with special needs.

Physical Education and Sport of Children and Youth with Special Needs
__________________________________________________________________________________
10
Preparation of the book was a part of scientific project “Physical and Sports Education and its
Quality and Potential in Promoting Health from the Perspective of Pupils, Teachers and Parents”
supported by The Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and
Sport of the Slovak Republic (VEGA) with number 1/0523/19.
A thank you goes also to the reviewers who, through their comments and advice, helped the
authors improve the quality of their contributions.
Gheorghe Balint
Branislav Antala
Catherine Carty
Jean-Marie Aleokol Mabiémé
Imen Ben Amar
Adriana Kaplánová
Editors

Best Practices
___________________________________________________________________________
355
“Biking? Let’s Make it Happen!”: Cycling Intervention to
Enhance Motor Skills, Social Interaction and Inclusion of Pupils
with Autism and other Special Needs
Augusti Castillo Cañiz1 - F. Dalmau Olivé2
1Inncredu (Educational Opportunities), Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, Catalonia, Spain
2Dinamiks (Educació, lleure i esport), Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain
FIEP Catalunya (Associació de la Federació Internacional d’Educació Física a Catalunya)
e-mail: agusti.castillo@gmail.com
Abstract
This article draws from a specific sporting intervention carried out by Dinamiks and Inncredu
professionals during 2017-2018 season at Paidea School, a Special Education School setting in
Barcelona, Catalonia. The intervention was undertaken as a form of sporting activities related to
cycling. The main objective of the intervention was to assess the factual implementation of BTTEA
project principles in an out of school placement. The theoretical patterns were established
following a comprehensive literature review and BTTEA basic guidelines in order to disseminate
them among PE Teachers and training institutions. The BTTEA program was integrated in a more
complex educational project called SPORTEA, which aims to raise awareness about the need of
implementing active leisure initiative for pupils with special needs to fight high levels of sedentary
behaviour. The project gained local community partnership and collaborated with four regional
councils. The study was carried out in order to reinforce the importance of improving Physical
Education towards a Quality Physical Education patterns (Castillo, Solà & Sebastiani, 2015). In the
process, attention to diversity and special needs were crucial in order to make Physical Education
useful and meaningful for society.
Key words: Quality Physical Education (QPE), Physical Activity (PA), Autism Spectrum
Condition (ASC), Special Needs, Sensory Modulation, Intensive Interaction, Conductive
Approach, Positive Behaviour Support, Peer Interaction, Social Interaction, Social Motivation

Physical Education and Sport for Children and Youth with Special Needs
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356
Literature review
For the realisation of this project relevant literature was researched and explored in order to
obtained theory basis and documentation to reinforce professional praxis. In order to focus the
review, up to 4 elements related to pupils with autism and special needs were looked at; the
importance of PA, the role of schools, sedentary behaviour and the learning environment. These
factors were chosen due to their close relationship with the topic.
The importance of P.A for pupils with ASC and exclusion from taking part in P.A
There is universal acceptance amongst specialist practitioners that physical activity is a key
component when working with young pupils on the autistic spectrum. Physical exercise helps in
the reduction of aggression in children with autism, increasing levels of participation, decreasing
levels of anxiety and hyperactivity, stereotypical behaviour modelling as well as raising levels of
self-esteem (Castillo & Soan, 2013). Principles concerning the inclusion of young disabled people
in PE and PA programmes does not necessarily apply for ASC specific groups as there are a wide
range of social skills and communication aspects that needs to be considered and revised in a daily
basis and no major motor skills challenges or impairments are manifested (Frith & Happé, 1994).
There has also been noticed that sport/PA to help adolescents with ASC develop social skills and
share positive experiences with peers, coaches, educators and local community members (Rosso,
2016).
There are many issues that youth population suffering from ASC have to face in order to take part
in Sport and PA. It has been documented that population with disabilities have difficulties from
participation in youth sports (Sorensen & Zarrett, 2014). Children with more significant disabilities
such as autism are excluded from participation in youth sports (Moran & Block, 2010). The most
common issues are related to the fear of having a child with disability taking part in regular sports
activities, as well as lack of training for those (coaches, PE teachers…) that are appointed to deal
with sport participants with disabilities (Moran & Block, 2010). According to Moran and Block
(2010), there is also a widespread fear from parents and children, ranging from not wanting to get
hurt, hurting others by accident or in response of a violent outburst, not engaging in games due
prevalence of repetitive behaviour and being emotionally hurt by peers, and therefore decreasing
their already low self-esteem and “perceived competence”.
The role of the schools and other public subjects
Even when recreation programs are available, there is a social gap in relation to participating in
sports programs in adolescence. Thus, the offer tends to only meet those who are already
participating in competitive settings and this leads to a severe drop off in recreational programs.
The population that is not directly receiving the competitive offer may have other interests directly
confronting the ones related with PA and have less recreation programs set for them to enjoy
(Moran & Block, 2010). Some schools are afraid to generalise P.A and P.E, among their pupils,
arguing that the number of social impairments may lead to conflicts that can be easily solved by
introducing a range of therapies within the school policies, such as drama-therapy, music-therapy
and occupational-therapy, instead. A greater deal of obstacles in getting active through Physical
Activity initiatives and complications in communicational patterns have lead child with ASC to
choose more sedentary activities, on top of the already described issues related to peer social

357
interaction and adult’s appropriate integration, as well as exclusion by peers, and/or the inability of
adults to include them appropriately (Must, Phillips, Curtin & Bandini, 2015).
Increasing sedentary behaviour
Teenagers with autism or other psychiatric disorders are far less likely to exercise or play sports
than are their typical peers, this is an important issue because these adolescents with autism may
set themselves up for mental and physical health problems and miss opportunities to make friends,
a skill that does not come naturally to many people with the condition, as well as facing health
issues that can go on an intensify during adulthood (Smith & Patterson, 2012). Although there is a
need of increasing the number of studies related to the sedentary behaviours for pupils with ASC,
beyond the correlative data outcomes from general population, in order to quantified specific
benefits and tackle the origin of a number of those behaviours, there is a list of studies that have
already shown lack of participation of child with disabilities (Memari et al., 2015). Some of them
have already highlight the lack of physical activity from those suffering with ASC, according to
existing financial and sociodemographic concerns, which show the importance of promoting
transnational funded actions to minimize the impact of social background (Jones et al., 2017).
Learning environment
Apart from the noted socio-structured issues there a number of considerations coming from the
number of impairments that child with ASC show and can also restrict their sports and Physical
Activity successful participation, due to social and behavioural impairments (Must, Phillips, Curtin
& Bandini, 2015). There is a list of elements that have to be taken into account when planning a
lesson for pupils with autism. In terms of PE and sport the following key issues may therefore
inhibit autistic pupils to fully accessing the learning environment (Stevenson, 2008):
• Environment: Difficulties in defining space leading to unpredictable movement within space and
invading others personal space.
• Communication: Interpretation of verbal messages and increased length of time to process
instructions. Lack of understanding of abstract concepts.
• Gross motor difficulties: Imitation may be difficult when completing complex tasks.
• Sensory issues: Noise, touch, smell, and light may affect the pupils’ ability to process information
and affect behaviour.
• Social difficulties: Co-operation, turn taking, sharing, negotiation, understanding rules.
• Speed of skill acquisition: Increased time required for the processing and retention of skills and
information.
• Difficulties with generalization: Different activities may require skill to be re-leant as skill transfer
and application may be limited.
Organisation of the study
General goals and hypotheses
The whole project was set to prove the importance of applying a conductive approach based on
sporting initiatives and group motivation, not only for reducing pupils’ sedentary life style while
gaining interest in sports education, but for improving their ability and their interest for social
interaction.

Physical Education and Sport for Children and Youth with Special Needs
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358
Figure 1 Study participants, list of special needs and handicaps
Figure 2 Study participants and Francesc one of the teachers in charge of the study.
The specific aims were as follow:
1) Assess the factual implementation of BTTEA project principles in an out of school placement.
2) Revise conductive model and positive behaviour support to enhance social interaction and
inclusion.
3) Raise awareness about the need of implementing active leisure initiative for pupils with special
needs.
4) Fight high levels of sedentary behaviour in pupils with special needs.
5) Help pupils to learn to ride a bike and improve their motor skills.
The hypotheses under the view that, applying a sporting intervention based on “socioconductivity”
tools related to cycling will:
1) At the end of the intervention pupils will improve their ability and interest for social
interaction.
2) At the end of the intervention pupils will improve pupils motor skills and interest for
participating in sporting activities.
3) The intervention will reduce pupils’ sedentary behaviour and improve their social inclusion.
Setting and group of pupils
The study was carried out at Paidea School, a Special Education School setting in Barcelona,
Catalonia; with the help of out of school club managers, tutors of each of the pupils and family
members to the class groups during 2017-2018 season. There were up to 4 participants (3 boys and
1 girl) with two different special needs diagnosis (ASC and Down Syndrome) and age range from
14 to 17 years old. The pupils had a number of social and motor handicaps that modelled the
intervention from the very beginning. Mixed population, forced the need of finding a unique
proposal to suit them all, but recognising specificities throughout the project.

359
Figure 4 Social skills planned intervention
Dual focus intervention
The intervention was set in order to generate a duality of beneficial outcomes. On one hand, there
was an interest to teach student how to ride a bike to help reducing sedentary lifestyle and gaining
motor skills; on the other hand, there was a need for working on social skills to improve social
interaction. By working in both areas’ pupils would eventually get a broader set of learnings to
impact they daily life and facilitate tools for future inclusion in society. The motor skill
achievements were set around biking progress following a classic learning pattern starting with
body posture. After securing a stability base for starting motion, the learning progress ran to
balance, steering and pedalling. From there, the basis was set to achieved more advanced skills such
as starting pedalling (teacher was helping students before reaching this point) and breaking.
Figure 3 Biking motor skills achievement process intervention
The social skills intervention was planned as a progression model. Pupils work on three different
stages process. They started interacting only with the teacher in order to create a secure
environment and allowing professionals to learn more about pupil’s reaction and attention abilities.
Observing relational patterns helped teachers to recognise a preferred partner for each of the pupils
in the group and initiating a first level of social interaction by adding a new member. In the end
of the process each preferred group of pupils were merged together to a single group in order to
work towards improving both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, increasing motivation and
decreasing level of disrupting behaviours.

Physical Education and Sport for Children and Youth with Special Needs
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360
Figure 5 “Socioconductivity” model based on conductive approach principles
Pedagogical strategies
“Socioconductivity”, the key factor
A revised model for conductive approach and positive behaviour support was introduced to
enhance social interaction and inclusion of pupils with autism and other special needs. The new
intervention model was based on increasing peer interaction as a positive reinforcement for getting
active while learning to ride a bike. The overall purpose of this strategy is to rise social motivation
among the group members and reducing specific conductive approach techniques to achieve
improvements. This intervention was based on celebrating social encounters as motivators while
reducing or avoiding the usage of materials (i.e. games, pictures, food) as motivators. Due to the
combination of conductive approach based on social reinforcement the intervention strategy was
called “Socioconductivity” (Castillo & Dalmau, 2018). Following the premises, a multi-method
teaching intervention to promote specific encounters among participants (teachers and pupils),
raising social interactive motivation and reinforcing the importance of parents’ engagement was
used throughout the process.
Intensive interaction technique as a facilitator approach
The approach helps the person with learning difficulties and their communication partner to relate
better to each other and enjoy each other's company more. It helps them develop their
communication abilities. In Intensive interaction the carer, support worker, speech and language
therapist or teacher works at being a better communication partner and so supports the person
with learning disabilities developing confidence and competence as a communicator. Intensive
Interaction is a practical approach to interacting with people with severe or profound and multiple
learning disabilities and/or autism. It is a very practical approach to communication and socialising
with people who do not find it easy communicating or being social. The sessions are organised
logically and adapted to the children needs in order to help them focused on what is going to
happen and when is going to happen. “The sessions have a predictable rhythm, important in
meeting the needs of children on the autistic spectrum. The (occupational therapist) may use a
Velcro picture board with the session activities” (Glovak, 2007, p.2).
Related to PE and PA it is needed to pay special attention to the organization of the space and the
number of tools that are planned to be introduce during the lesson, in order not to disturb pupil’s

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Figure 6 Observation phase overview
attention to the objective of the session itself. According to British Institute of Learning
Disabilities (2004) the session key tips are the following: enjoying being with another person;
developing the ability to attend to that person; concentration and attention span; learning to do
sequences of activity with the other person; taking turns in exchanges of behaviour; sharing
personal space; using and understanding eye contacts; using and understanding facial expressions;
using and understanding physical contacts; using and understanding non-verbal communication.
The intervention phases
The intervention was organised under three different phases (observation, interaction and assessing
outcomes) during the academic year. Each of the intervention phases highlighted a number of skills
willing to be achieved and a particular monthly focus target. Skills were organized following the
dual focus intervention scheme, progressing from exclusively related to the motor and skill spheres,
to a combination of both of them right at the end.
Phase 1: Observation
Running from October to December, the first phase was set to assess motor skills background of
each pupil in order to set a list of reasonable targets. October was purely used to observe pupils’
genuine abilities towards cycling. During November, teachers apply general conductive strategies
following school tutors and parents advise on pupils preferred motivators such as food, visual
books and other materials. At the end of the trimester there was the time for deploying the first
motor skills assessment to check pupils’ progression and a general induction on social interactions.
Phase 2: Interaction
The second step was particularly organised to check social interaction skills. The phase
started in January with a planned teachers’ interaction with pupils, following a previous analysis of
best possible options among them. February was mainly used for introducing pupil’s interaction
under teacher’s supervision, this helped to map the preferred options and started the progressive
integration of whole group in March. The whole trimester was video recorded in order to properly
assess motor skills and socials skills and introducing the second sociogram.

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Figure 7 Interaction phase overview
Figure 8 Outcomes phase overview
Phase 3: Outcomes
Outcome’s phase was organised in three months, April, May and June. During this period a general
acquisition program for motor skills and socials skills was intensified in April and May to prepare
community participation and final assessment in June. At the end of the phase and the whole
process parents and tutors’ views were incorporated to better analyse pupils progress in both
dimensions (motor and social). Teachers had at that point, a clear picture on pupils’ achievements
and a third sociogram that showed social interaction skills progress was deployed.
Outcomes
Result analysis focused in two main areas of pupils’ enhancement process: (1) students’
psychomotricity abilities and (2) social interaction abilities. The results showed benefits in both,
motor skills acquisition and social interaction impact as pupils systematically improved their
sporting abilities related to biking and progressively enhanced their interaction levels during
lessons.

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Figure 9 Assessing tools overview, with the range of techniques used
Assessing tools
In each of the phases, pupils’ progression in both motor skills and social skills area were checked
with a battery of assessing tools. There was a mixture of qualitative and quantitative techniques
ranging from diary sessions to interviews. On one hand, motor skills were assessed by the
professionals in a daily basis. However, once a trimester a number of specific bicycle technical
aspects were ticked as part of a checklist according to each of the pupils’ personal plans. Particular
achievements were also recorded in order to highlight pupils’ genuine breakthroughs and in order
to have visual data to reinforce the results of the study. On the other hand, apart from diaries and
recorded evidence, interviews with parents and other professionals were set to have a qualitative
view on pupils’ evolution on the social skills side. All the qualitative information given, helped in
constructing a sociogram panel that showed all the participants progression from the first phase to
the third one.
Pupils’ main achievements
As shown in the figure below, participants had several achievements in both motor skills and social
skills areas. Taking into account the fact that they never used a bike before the study, the general
biking progression was certainly positive across the board:
• Pau D. managed to pedal continuously and accepted a different support rather than holding the
handlebar. On the social side, he managed to stop referring to mum during lessons and enjoyed
social interaction from the very beginning of the intervention. Most of the times he acted as a
trigger for whole group reunion for choral activities.
• Arnau achieved pedalling for a considerable distance and starting the bike autonomously with
no other help than a little tap at the back. Although he struggled enjoying with the presence of
other pupils, he ended up the intervention accepting the presence of more students around him;
as well as reducing the need for adults’ continuous attention.
• On the motor skills side, Míriam was one of the best examples of achievement. She managed
to ride in straight line on a flat surface, clean of any possible obstacle. Besides, she started cycling

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Figure 10 Assessing tools overview, with the range of techniques used
with no help from teachers, not even a simple tap at the back to help her acknowledging when
to start. Socially wise, she had more difficulties as she wanted to practice on her own and did
not like to interact with other students. However, by the end of the intervention she showed
better self-confidence in approaching others and allowing physical and visual contact.
• Although Pau F. generally struggled in both areas, he showed good achievement. Technical
wise, he managed to ride about 50 meters and start the bike with a sensible holding help from
the back by one of the teachers. On the social sphere of the study, he presented himself as the
most challenging pupil of all. He was nonetheless, who showed a better progression as his
disrupting behaviour towards other pupils decreased significantly. This achievement helped him
in building up better relationship with the other pupils within the group.
•
Sociograms progression
A sociogram interaction pattern was used throughout the study, in order to be able to check social
interaction among pupils and its progression. Sociograms are valuable for showing relationships at
any particular moment and how they may change over time (Sobieski & Dell'Angelo, 2016). By
using this tool, relationships were simplified to three items: good relationships represented with an
arrow, bad relationship represented with a discontinued tail arrow and level of social skills
represented with a circle. Each member of the group was represented with a circle (blue ones for
students and yellow ones for teachers). Pupils’ social skills were marked depending on how big the
circle was. The bigger the circle the more social skills shown during the study. The distance of the
circles showed the level of social interest among the members of the group. Therefore, the closer
to each other, the most interest showed in interacting. Finally, the intensity of this interaction
between members of the group was represented by increasing the bold level of the arrows.

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1st Trimester
Pau D. started as a main character in the social interaction side
of the group, located in the centre of the group. On the other
hand, Míriam showed low level of social interaction skills relating
only to Francesc, one of the teachers. The more intense relation
was shown by Arnau and Pau F., with a mixture of strong
feelings.
2nd Trimester
The second sociogram showed an increase on Míriam
relationship to Pau D. and the other teacher, Agustí. Pau F.,
increased their level of social skills as well as decreasing the
intensity of relation to Arnau. Arnau suffered from this lack of
attention and step back on his level of social skills and intensify
his relationship with Agustí.
3rd Trimester
Arnau went back to his initial social skills level of interaction and
added Francesc. Pau D. increase his level, interacted with
everyone and prompting Míriam’s interaction to the group. Pau
F., kept modelling interaction with Arnau and achieved better
levels of social skills.
Conclusions
Focusing on social interaction, riding learning process was based upon collective rather than
individual approaches. The intervention managed to face pupils’ sedentary behaviour and allowed
them to enjoy themselves by doing leisure and sport activities. Furthermore, the initiative showed
the viability of successfully introducing activities close to Physical Education for pupils with special
needs and functional diversity, as well as minimizing parents’ fears towards a sporting-based
intervention while showing the importance of keeping their children active. There is a social need
of deescalating fears towards producing physical education and sport activities for pupils with
functional diversity and autism as they can be a useful tool for increasing, not only motor skill
abilities, but enhancing quality of life through being more active and improving their social skills.
Working on social interaction will definitely lead to more active participation in society and
therefore a better social acceptance and awareness.
Although further quantitative research studies incorporating control groups would be needed,
following the promising results reached during the intervention, the reliability of applying the dual
methodology in future interventions was justified. Besides, the importance of generating a positive
and motivating atmosphere between coaches and pupils based on positive behaviour support has
to be taken into account. The study will be used as a training tool for Physical Education trainees
and fully qualified Physical Education teachers training programs in collaboration with FIEP
Catalunya, a FIEP Europe subsidiary organisation

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