Students with disabilities have physical therapy and rehabilitation resources available to them through the adaptive physical education classes on campus.
Adaptive Physical Education Professor Brandon Ellis teaches two adaptive PE classes at Cosumnes River College and he said they’re not just for people with permanent disabilities.
“Most gyms don’t have the right equipment,” Ellis said. “A lot of the students that we have lack access.”
Room P.E. 105 is lined wall to wall with specialized equipment for an array of disabilities. Students and community members experiencing sports injuries, temporary disabilities from accidents, permanent disabilities like cerebral palsy or have suffered a stroke are encouraged to enroll in the class if proper facilities are not available to them.
“This group is close,” Ellis said. “One part is the exercise, but there’s also the mental health.”
Forty-one-year-old library information and technology major Trinh Ly, said her favorite part of the class is everyone’s good energy.
“Once I get in this class, all the bad energy is gone,” Ly said. “It’s really easy to talk to the instructors. We need more of these classes.”
Biology major Ricky Pool, 19, said he enjoys having fitness first thing in the morning and said he thinks Ellis is fun to be around.
“It’s a nice way to wake up, it’s my first class of the day, I get to work on my body,” Pool said. “Professor Ellis is real understanding, he helps figure out workouts for you and makes the class brighter.”
Most of the equipment is set up to be done in pairs or groups.
Ellis said some students repeat the course for the community aspect. He has been either an aid or teaching in the adaptive program since 2010.
“Helping them overcome their challenges gives me a lot of optimism and encouragement,” Ellis said. “They’ve helped me grow as a person and as a father.”
Students can also use the Nintendo Wii for balancing on Wii Fit or playing tennis with each other on Wii Sports.
The course features student aids who may be studying to be a nurse or another medical graduate.
Marshell Sailor, a 34-year-old communications major and personal trainer, said the adaptive fitness class is a vital community for a lot of people who come.
“This place puts the community in community college,” Sailor said. “It’s a therapy session, meeting room and celebration all at once.”
Ellis said the point of the course is to help students adapt to their disability and hopefully become more independent. He said he wants to have an emphasis on the community, because it is not just a place to transfer from, but also a place to go and learn for anyone in the community.
“That’s why this place is so important, there’s nothing else on campus like this,” Sailor said. “Without this place a lot of people would have nowhere to go.”