The virtue of aquatic motor activities for the disabled in the school system. The experience of a neapolitan school

Educational activities that satisfy the needs of particular subjects, i.e. the disabled and reentry dropouts, play a significant role in the field of initiatives regarding the prevention and the recuperation of scholastic dispersion (G. Duclos- D. Laporte – J.Ross -2006). Our research regarded eighteen students and was carried out in a secondary school in Naples, situated in a peripheral part of the city where only private sports facilities are available. The difficulty in finding easily accessible sports facilities increases the need among the disabled to practice sports activities. The students carried out two hours of physical water activities from January to May in the public pool of Monterusciello (NA). They were followed by a special needs teacher, expert in the sport of swimming, and by the qualified personnel granted us by the facility. The activities were primarily recreational. During the activities the pool was attended by other subjects who did not have any disabilities and by athletes in training. The analysis of the data collected, and the surveys given to the students, teachers, and family members, showed that the activities had a positive influence on the personal autonomy of the subjects, on a social level and showed improvements in scholastics as well. Furthermore, an increase in attendance was seen, from an average of 63% for the months of September-December, to about 85% in the months of January-May. Such an activity can therefore be considered a valid educative tool, on hand for teachers of schools found in areas of social decay, favoring the inclusion of disabled and/ or destitute subjects.