Adapted Physical Education Specialists

What Adapted Physical Education Specialists do

You teach gym class to students whose bodies or brains work differently, rebuilding each activity so they can actually play.

Adapted physical education specialists teach movement, fitness, and sports to people with disabilities. Your students might have intellectual disabilities, autism, a brain injury, or orthopedic impairments (conditions affecting bones, joints, or muscles). You figure out what each person can do now, then design activities that stretch them a little further. That could mean a modified ball, a shorter court, guiding a student's hands through the movement so they can feel how it works, or breaking a skill into five smaller steps.

Most of the job happens indoors in gyms and classrooms, usually with one student or a small group. You also test students to decide who needs services, write reports on their progress, and plan with classroom teachers, special education staff, and families. Most people enter with a bachelor's degree. Median pay is $76,580 a year nationally.

A day in the life

You check email before the first session, then meet a student who is working on catching and throwing. You demonstrate, give feedback, and keep the mood light so they want to come back. Later you run a small group through a fitness circuit you rebuilt so a student using a wheelchair can do every station. You are standing, walking, sometimes jogging alongside them. Between sessions you sit down to run a new student through some simple movement tests to see whether they need this kind of help, and you type notes into a progress report. You meet a classroom teacher to plan an activity the whole class can join. You reset equipment, remind a student of the safety rules, and finish the day writing up what you saw.

How people get in

1. 1Get experience early with people who have disabilities, through coaching, camps, volunteering, or a job as a classroom aide.
2. 2Earn a bachelor's degree; common paths include special education and teaching, or programs focused on teaching individuals with autism, multiple disabilities, or specific learning disabilities.
3. 3Take coursework in physical education and movement alongside your special education classes, since you need both sides.
4. 4Complete supervised student teaching, where you work under an experienced teacher before running sessions on your own.
5. 5Check your state's teacher licenses and requirements, because rules for teaching in public schools vary by state.
6. 6Apply to school districts and educational agencies, and expect to keep learning new techniques on the job.

Who tends to enjoy it

Official task list

Adapted Physical Education Specialists provide individualized physical education instruction or services to children, youth, or adults with exceptional physical needs due to gross motor developmental delays or other impairments. (O*NET)

• Provide adapted physical education services to students with intellectual disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, orthopedic impairments, or other disabling condition.
• Provide students positive feedback to encourage them and help them develop an appreciation for physical education.
• Provide individual or small groups of students with adapted physical education instruction that meets desired physical needs or goals.
• Instruct students, using adapted physical education techniques, to improve physical fitness, gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, or sports and game achievement.
• Write reports to summarize student performance, social growth, or physical development.
• Evaluate the motor needs of individual students to determine their need for adapted physical education services.
• Establish and maintain standards of behavior to create safe, orderly, and effective environments for learning.
• Collaborate with other educational personnel to provide inclusive activities or programs for children with disabilities.

A typical day involves

How much Adapted Physical Education Specialists make

The median pay for Adapted Physical Education Specialists in the U.S. is $76,580 a year. Most earn between $48,440 and $120,080. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)

Pay depends a lot on where you live: the median is highest in California ($103,050) and lowest in West Virginia ($39,920).

Where to study for this

College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.

• Special Education and Teaching 813 colleges
• Education / Teaching of Individuals with Multiple Disabilities 40 colleges
• Special Education and Teaching, Other 117 colleges
• Education / Teaching of Individuals with Autism 107 colleges
• Education / Teaching of Individuals with Specific Learning Disabilities 72 colleges
• Education / Teaching of Individuals with Hearing Impairments Including Deafness 52 colleges
• Education / Teaching of Individuals with Speech or Language Impairments 24 colleges
• Education / Teaching of Individuals with Vision Impairments Including Blindness 22 colleges

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