Teaching Jump Rope to Children with Visual Impairments

The development of motor skills is vital for individuals to obtain optimum health while leading an enjoyable and successful life of physical activity. Motor development is defined as "the changes that occur in our ability to move and our movement in general as we proceed through the lifespan" (Payne & Isaacs, 2002, p. 2). Each individual must progress through developmental milestones that will be fundamental in learning and refining more complex skills throughout the lifespan (Gallahue & Cleland Donnelly, 2003). Individuals who refine and progress their development of motor skills are more likely to participate in physical activity throughout their lives. The Surgeon General's report (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 1996) indicated the importance and benefits of daily physical activity for all ages and both sexes. The benefits of daily physical activity include a decrease in all cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and diabetes mellitus. Not only does physical activity help to reduce certain diseases, it increases the quality of life of a person by enhancing his or her emotional and mental well-being. The more physically active people are in their daily lives, the more confident they become in their physical abilities, the more they enjoy physical activity, and the more they believe in the health benefits that physical activity has to offer. Individuals need basic motor skills to advance to more complex skills that are essential to a physically active childhood and adulthood. Unfortunately, those who are born blind face challenges in developing fundamental motor skills, which creates a deficit in their later development of motor skills (Aki, Atasavun, Turan, & Kayihan, 2007; Brambring, 2006; O'Connell, Lieberman, & Petersen, 2006). Since the development of motor skills is not learned and refined during their early years of childhood, individuals who are blind are less likely to participate in physical activities in adolescence or adulthood (Longmuir & Bar-Or, 2000). In addition, they do not always receive the physical education instruction they need to develop and refine such skills (Lieberman & McHugh, 2001; Lieberman, Robinson, & Rollheiser, 2006). Thus, children who are blind tend to have lower levels of physical activity than do their same-age, sighted peers, which can be attributed to the lack of physical education instruction and practice, inactive lifestyles, and overprotection (Kozub & Oh, 2004; Lieberman & McHugh, 2001; Sherrill, 2004; Skaggs & Hopper, 1996; Stuart, Lieberman, & Hand, 2006; Wyatt & Ng, 1997). Children with visual impairments are born with the same potential to develop both motor skills and a healthy level of fitness as their sighted peers (Lieberman, Stuart, Hand & Robinson, 2006). Because of the lack of opportunity for physical activity, limited expectations for them in physical education, and the absence of adults who are informed about the potential of and trained in how to provide physical education to them, children with visual impairments experience avoidable delays in fitness (Lieberman & McHugh, 2001; Lieberman, Robinson et al., 2006; Wiskochil, Lieberman, Houston-Wilson, & Petersen, 2007). By promoting the development of motor skills and physically active lifestyles, professionals and parents can help the children become more independent in their daily living activities and have more opportunities to socialize with their same-age peers by participating in fitness, aquatics, sports, and recreational activities (Lepore, Gayle, & Stevens, 2007; Lieberman & McHugh, 2001; Shapiro, Moffett, Lieberman, & Dummer, 2005). Appropriately trained educators (who understand that no matter how great the visual impairment, there is always the ability for progression and growth) can teach children to become lifelong participants in movement (Lieberman, Houston-Wilson, & Kozub, 2002). …