Polybat: a game for people with cerebral palsy

Abstract

This study aimed at offering to the Physical Education teachers and enthusiasts a recreational activity that includes students with brain palsy and/or physical disabilities who attend special or regular schools. The aim is to provide activities that are appropriate to the students' motor abilities; encouraging and evaluating the progression of these abilities and the involvement with the activities per se. We developed our study in the Parents and Friends of the Exceptional Association in the city of Palmas, Paraná state during the year of 2004. Six students between eight and 20 years old participated on this study. We accomplished 32 classes, which were given weekly, with the duration of 1 hour and twenty-five minutes each. The activities dealt with the motor abilities of the students and the results obtained and registered through the systematic observation in the daily field were: improvement in the posture control and reach of the table corners; improvement in the control of the racket and of the ball on the racket, which resulted in a better understanding of the fundamentals of the game and of the rallies; improvement of strength and precision of the strokes; understanding of the rules; improvement in concentration, selfmotivation and acceptance of defeat(when it occurs).