Columna Brings SU Fit Families Program to India
-Caitlin Hoover
Dr. Luis Columna, Associate
Professor of Exercise Science, has been working with individuals with
disabilities for over 15 years. He completed his PhD in Adapted Physical Education
from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas where his advisor recommended he
complete a minor in family science. By taking family science, his research
shifted to include teaching skills to the families of individuals with
disabilities so that they may better interact, a method which had not been
previously implemented in most special needs programs.
His Syracuse University (SU)
Fit Families program has been very successful in engaging children with
disabilities, their families, and professionals in the field of adapted
physical education in order to teach families the skills needed to interact
with their children and keep them fit and healthy. By engaging in physical
activity, it reduces the risk of secondary health concerns such as obesity and
heart failure, and also provides physiological, psychological and social
benefits for all participants.
Recently, when he traveled to India to give a talk on
Hemophilia at an India Inclusion Summit in Bangalore, Dr. Columna was contacted
by multiple individuals who would like to implement this program throughout
India. He is excited to have such a diverse team working with individuals with
a variety of needs including those with autism and visual impairments. He
believes they will be able to make a great impact through their current SU Fit
Families program in India, as well as any new pro-grams which branch out of it.
For students and professionals
looking to get involved in assisting or implementing programs for individuals
with disabilities, Dr. Columna offers this advice: “Students need to be kind,
caring and patient, but at the same time they must have the drive to be
advocates for individuals with disabilities and believe that they can achieve
by having high expectations of them. For professionals who want to implement
these kinds of programs you need to be creative, think outside the box, and
then whatever your dream is, try to put it into perspective.”
Dr. Columna is one of eight education faculty to be chosen
by the Cornell-SU South Asia Consortium and the South East Asia Program at
Cornell to be a Faculty Fellow. 