ISCA North America Chair Dr Jayne Greenberg is leading a new programme for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to get more youth with disabilities involved in more sport and physical activity.

The I Can Do It! programme (ICDI), released through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education and supported by the President's Council for Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, is a voluntary school-based physical activity programme designed to provide access, facilitate, and encourage opportunities for K-12 students with disabilities to be physically active for 60 minutes a day. This can be accomplished by accumulating the 60 minutes through physical education, adapted physical education, recess, classroom physical activity breaks, active transport to and from school, and extracurricular activities, including a variety of club and sport activities.

ICDI works to achieve its objectives through the programme’s three core tenets:

MENTORING: School site personnel (teachers, paraprofessionals, therapists, counsellors, etc.) guide students through physical education, physical activity, and sports opportunities and healthy eating habits.

GOAL SETTING: School site personnel work with students on setting weekly, grading period, or semester goals.

RECOGNITION: After completing the programme for a minimum of 8 weeks, students earn their PALA+ awards (certificate and patch). It is recommended that in the school setting the programme is conducted all year long with an end of year awards celebration/ceremony.

The ICDI Programme is offered in eight week intervals throughout the school year, but the programme can begin at any time. Ideally, the programme is conducted all year long culminating with an end of year awards ceremony/celebration. The programme manual is available to download here.

“We know that healthy and fit students are better learners who are more likely to thrive in school and in life,” Dr Greenberg says. “Studies on the health and fitness of children and youth with disabilities show that many do not get enough exercise or have healthy eating habits. For this reason, we are hopeful that every school and every school district across the world will offer the programme to all students with disabilities.”

For additional information, or to get started, please contact Dr Jayne Greenberg, Program Manager, at [email protected]