Embodied cognitive science and adapted physical activities

Researches on Embodied Cognitive Science (ECS) are promising to become a rich interdisciplinary endeavor offer¬ing an opportunity to address, in a simultaneous and coordi¬nated way, problems of philosophical and educational nature including the development of the mind-body-brain and its consequences in the teaching and learning of Sport Activities and Physical Education in the classroom. These phenomena cannot be understood and studied out¬side the living and acting sentient beings coupled to a particu¬lar socio-ecological situation. Thus, the embodiment paradigm presents both conceptual and practical consequences that al¬low new ways to understand cognition, learning and teaching. In parallel to this, a strong interest in Adapted Physical Activities (APA) has grown stronger over the years; an activ¬ity that, according to what Simard C. (1973) has been affir¬ming from many years, includes any movement, any physical activity that can be practiced by individuals limited in physi¬cal, psychological and mental skills. This work presents, in an integrated way, some of the con-sequences and reflections on embodiment, notably the role of physicality and corporeality on teaching-learning processes in APA, and the potential of an enactive approach in education¬al relation between teacher and athlete. In doing so, it offers ways to challenge and reframe problems and issues in APA to improve teaching, learning as well as research practices