AAASP PARTNERSHIP WITH GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY (GSU)
AAASP: How did you first get involved with AAASP?
Dr. Shapiro: I first got involved with AAASP in 2000. A women named Jan Seamen who was on the AAASP board at that time recommended me to Tommie and Bev. I had just started as an assistant professor at Georgia State University. Jan Seaman was a legend in adapted physical education in California and known nationally for her research and teaching and advocacy at the national level.
AAASP: Why did you decide to partner with AAASP?
DS: It was a great opportunity to get involved in disability sport and work with kids which is what I was trained to do in adapted physical education. While a doctoral student at Indiana University, I attended a guest workshop by someone named Ron Davis who also was one of the leading scholars and practitioners in disability sport. He came to talk with us about how we could get involved in disability sport and I loved everything about it. When I got to GSU, Carol Mushett was across the hall from me. She was the highest-ranking woman in the Paralympic movement, and also got me involved in disability sport.
AAASP: Please share a little about you, your background, your personal interests/family…
DS: I am originally and proudly Canadian from Toronto. I completed my Bachelors degree in physical education and psychology from York University in Toronto and went to Michigan State for my Masters in Adapted PE, Motor Development, and sport psychology and then to Indiana University Bloomington for my PhD in the same three areas. I graduated in 1999 and came to GSU in August and have been at GSU my whole career (25 years this year). I teach in the undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs in the health and physical education program in the Department of Kinesiology and Health. I teach classes on adapted physical education, motor development and supervise student teachers. I am also the undergraduate health and PE program coordinator so I oversee the administration of the program with 5 faculty (including myself).
My research has always looked at sport for people with a disability. When I came to GSU, I started my research line with athletes with an intellectual disability involved with Special Olympics. Once I got involved with AAASP, I started to focus my research on the impact of sport participation of youth with physical disabilities. My research has involved AAASP athletes and those involved in Blaze sports programs as well as those at the Lakeshore Foundation in Alabama to ensure we had a large enough sample of participants to answer the research questions I was asking. I support the research of doctoral students in a variety of areas including adults with physical disabilities and individuals with visual impairments as well as college students with intellectual disabilities.
I have 2 boys, 21 and 19, who are at UGA. I like to swim, travel with my family, love the beach and have recently acquired a hobby of taking old children’s dollhouses of any type (Fisher Price, Little Tykes, Batman caves, pirate ships etc.) and turning them into haunted houses for display for Halloween!
AAASP: Can you explain the “partnership” between AAASP / GSU?
DS: I have partnered with AAASP in two ways, teaching and research. From teaching, I developed a wheelchair sports class where I taught the three main AAASP sports (handball, basketball, football) as well as other disability sports like goalball, wheelchair tennis and special Olympics floor hockey. Students who passed the AAASP test and the skills portion of the class could get AAASP certification for three years. We trained probably close to 15 students as the class is not offered every year.
The other partnership was research. AAASP supported access to athletes, parents and coaches to conduct research on the participants and the program. The findings have all been published with AAASP mentioned in the paper as a participating program and from where participants were recruited. I have also written two book chapters on disability sport and have discussed AAASP’s programs in these chapters. Lastly, Christy and Harlon have both come to GSU to teach in my wheelchair sport class and Christy brought a few of her athletes to play with us. In the early years of my class, I would take the class to the APS team during their weekly practice and my class would scrimmage with the APS athletes. This was a great way for my students to interact with and see the ability of the athletes and recognize them as athletes.
AAASP: What do you think are the biggest benefits of AAASP partnering with GSU?
DS: The opportunity for students to get involved with AAASP athletes and observe and participate has been great to increase awareness and change attitudes of GSU students about individuals with a disability. For me personally, working with the past AAASP Executive Directors Tommie and Bev has been amazing as mentors and supports of me personally, giving me opportunities to get involved with AAASP on a national level. Doing research with AAASP has been the foundation of my academic career and I am grateful to have the support, and to have found my passion through this group.
AAASP: Any other info to share with our readers?
DS: I am excited for my new line of research looking at coach development to continue to help provide evidence based best practices to help athletes with disabilities develop their skills and have the opportunities in sports that are available to children without disabilities.