Community and Service Programs

The Kinesiology Department's community programs connect students with real-world experience and provide valuable services—from fitness to mobility—to people across the North State.

On This Page

• Adapted Physical Education Sports Day
• Autism Clinic
• BE:WEL Program
• Community Fitness Assessment
• Paradise U Project

Adapted Physical Education Sports Day

Mission
The mission of the Adapted Physical Education Sports Day is to promote disability sports and competition for individuals who are deaf, blind, or have physical disabilities. This event provides a venue for competition and community connections of individuals from multiple counties around Northern California. It is intended that these student athletes will be the future paraolympians of tomorrow.

Overview
Sports Day is an event put on by the Northern California Adapted Physical Education Consortium and is hosted by the CSU, Chico Department of Kinesiology. The Sports Day event is designed to serve as an opportunity for children and young adults, between the age ranges of preschool through high school, with low-incidence disabilities, which include deaf, blind and orthopedic disabilities, to come together and participate in sport competitions.

Sports Day is an event that began in Fall of 2000. Every year participants and volunteers from CSU, Chico and all around the North Sate come, as well as media news crews. During the Fall, the coordinator of the event, Dr. Rebecca Lytle, gathers the assistance of students within the APA program to aid in the responsibility of helping to organize and run the Sports Day Games.

The APA student volunteers that help to put on the Sports Day events often get as much out of the competitions as the athletes. Their participation affords them the opportunity to get a first hand look at disability sports and become more aware of what is involved with the events and the athletes that compete in them.

By establishing specific events, competitors can start training early in the year before they come to the event. The Sports Day offers a once a year large-scale competition. Every year the event has grown and it now hosts over 100 athletes from around the northern California. In addition, many world-class disabled athletes assist with coaching and running events.

Contact: Marci Pope
Email: mjpope@csuchico.edu

Autism Clinic

The Autism Clinic is part of the Kinesiology Department in the College of Communication and Education at California State University, Chico. Nationwide, the prevalence of individuals being diagnosed with autism has exploded. It is estimated that 1 in 54 children in the United States are on the autism spectrum. Similar increases are recognized around the globe.

Mission
The mission of the Autism Clinic is to build gross motor and object control skills in autistic individuals in a sensory rich environment so that they have the tools to be lifelong movers.

Our Approach
Our clinicians work on developing engagement in movement and object control skills of children on the autism spectrum. Utilizing evidence-based practices designed to meet unique instructional needs, our clinic strives to provide our clients with the specific motor skills needed to not only engage in, but enjoy physical activity in educational, community, and individualized settings.

The Program
The clinic combines multiple disciplines, resources, and support to allow continuous development in a positive environment for Chico State students, individuals with autism, and their families.

Services

• A focus on motor skill acquisition
• Development of interpersonal and self-regulation skills
• Educational growth and community support
• Fitness and nutrition
• Joint attention, play, and social interaction

Community Benefits

• Comprehensive individualized assessment
• Individual goal setting and intervention for participants
• Collaborative services with family and school programs
• Consultation services for educational planning

University Benefits

• Providing one-on-one interaction with program participants and their families
• Providing early field experience, expanded training, and resources
• Collaborating across disciplines

Contact: Dr. Josie Blagrave
Email: ablagrave@csuchico.edu

BE:WEL Program

Beyond Exercise: Wellness Enhancement for Life

Mission
The mission of the BE:WEL Program is to provide an opportunity for individuals with disabilities to take personal responsibility for their well being in an accessible supportive environment.

Overview
BE:WEL is designed to provide an accessible facility for health promotion as well as provide individualized support for adults with disabilities within the community. The program also facilitates personal goal development with a positive sense of well being through exercise. The environment is specifically designed for participant interaction and support, provides access to ongoing personal wellness education, and provides hands-on learning opportunities for university students.

Contact: Dr. Josie Blagrave
Email: ablagrave@csuchico.edu

Community Fitness Assessment

Students will perform fitness assessments on volunteers from the CSU, Chico community and surrounding areas, while also providing educational feedback to volunteers regarding their performance. Community members can participate in the fitness assessment as part of the Fitness Assessment and Community Testing (FACT) study.Volunteers can have of the following assessments:

• blood pressure
• blood glucose
• body composition (DEXA)
• handgrip strength
• lower body strength and power
• cardiovascular fitness assessment

Contact: Dr. Ryan Perkins
Email: rperkins2@csuchico.edu

Paradise U Project

Paradise U was a program created for the survivors of the November 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, which devastated the beautiful mountain town of Paradise, CA. Initially, we provided free physical fitness classes for the survivors that stayed in Paradise and quality physical education lessons for displaced students at Paradise Ridge Elementary School. We have since expanded these service to the broader community to help children use physical activity to enhance mental and emotional wellbeing.