Movement may look a little different for everyone, but the benefits are the same—we know that physical activity makes us healthier and happier. The evidence couldn’t have been clearer at the U of T Athletic Centre during a drop-in movement class to celebrate the conclusion of a Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE) course on adapted physical therapy, which just finished its second year.
“If someone can raise their arms above their heads and they couldn’t before, that’s growth,” says Barb Brophey, senior athletic instructor, gymnastics. “We talk about having no expectations and celebrating every success; we really emphasize for the students that this is going to look different than what they’re used to.” Brophey is the director of the Sensory Motor Instructional Leadership Experience (SMILE), the practical component of KPE434H1: Advanced Adapted Physical Activity. The program matches KPE students in the adapted physical activity course with adults with intellectual disabilities in the Aptus Treatment Centre to deliver physical activity programming over seven weeks through a combination of group and one-on-one targeted activities.
“With SMILE, the Faculty was looking to create more experiential learning opportunities,” says Thi Nancy Huynh, the PhD candidate with KPE and course instructor who developed the syllabus. “This course was designed intentionally with the idea of actually getting students working with communities, working one-on-one with adults with intellectual disabilities, which is a population that doesn’t get a lot of programming.” The most important aspect of the Aptus partnership, says Huynh, is the treatment centre’s emphasis on prioritizing individually tailored experiences—a value shared by KPE. “We were really lucky to connect with an organization who helps people with intellectual disabilities continue to move, whatever that means to them. ‘Healthy’ can be deconstructed in terms of what it looks like as well—it’s not exercise prescription, it’s really participant-focused in terms of meeting them where they are.”
Working in pairs with undergraduate students, SMILE participants play a variety of sports—from hopscotch and basketball to bowling and badminton—and practice yoga and balance activities to improve coordination and help reduce the risk of falls. “For many of these students, this will be their first time working with someone with a disability face to face,” says Huynh.
Huynh says that the feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive, with many citing their experience with SMILE as having a lasting, career-defining impact. “Students say that this course is relevant to their own lives, and a lot of them go on to do occupational therapy, physical therapy, teaching, nursing, and so on. One of the students said to me that this was the best experience of her life.” Anna Baker, a fourth-year undergraduate student with the Faculty, found SMILE to be an enriching and engaging experience. “I know that I want to do this now,” she says, “and I wouldn’t have thought that, going into it. The course really expanded my perspective of what was possible in terms of sport and exercise with different populations.”
“It’s been such an amazing success,” says KPE Vice Dean Ashley Stirling, who helped broker the Aptus relationship and was instrumental in getting the program off the ground. “SMILE is a real reflection of our commitment to transformative inclusivity. It’s fantastic to see the clients work in close partnership with our students and the valuable learning opportunity it’s providing for our students in learning how to adapt physical activity programming. But more importantly, it’s exposing them to living and working and experiencing life with different populations post university.” Brophey agrees: “We’re working to create people who understand this population—and accept it,” she says. “Helping to remove that stigma is really important, too. They’re just going to be better people.”
Kristen Stirling, an occupational therapist with Aptus, says that SMILE is an absolute highlight for the clients at the treatment centre. “One woman in particular is usually pretty reticent to go out into the community, but she’s the first one dressed and ready to head to U of T on Tuesday mornings. SMILE absolutely does what it says on the tin, and then some.”
The end of the course is cause for celebration, and last week, Brophey and Huynh were joined by past and present students of the course, SMILE participants, their support workers, and several KPE faculty and staff, for an hour-long workout session delivered by the Faculty’s fitness and performance team. Medicine balls flew, boxing gloves jabbed, and laughter rang out in the Athletic Centre Sports Gym to mark the end of another successful SMILE season. “This is the highlight of my work,” said Lauren Fragomeni, research/teaching assistant, who previously worked as an activity facilitator with Aptus before joining U of T. “Seeing the people that we support grow every single time they come here is everything. Choice, inclusion, and belonging in a community—I feel that everyone should be able to accessibly access physical fitness. Movement should be fun, and any sort of movement is beneficial.”