Pediatric Exercise and Motor Development Clinic

For more than 40 years, the Pediatric Exercise and Motor Development Clinic has helped children and adolescents with disabilities to gain strength and confidence through one-on-one instruction and personalized physical education plans. The PEMDC was developed in 1975 by professor emeritus of physical education, Ernie Bundschuh, and was directed for more than 30 years by professor Michael Horvat, beginning in 1985. The PEMDC is now co-directed by coach Nicole Kirk and professor Christopher Modlesky in UGA’s Department of Kinesiology.

This clinic, which is a nine-week program each fall and spring semesters, pairs children who need assistance in physical and motor development with undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the adapted physical education class at UGA. Each hour-long session combines physical activities with swimming instruction that aims to increase each child’s level of confidence and proficiency in and out of the pool. The clinic also provides research experiences for children, their families, and University of Georgia students.

About Our Classes

For each child in the program, we either conduct an initial assessment of their needs and abilities, or we rely on an outside assessment done by a physician, therapist, or school.

From there, we develop a physical education plan that develops each child’s skills and responds to their needs. Nine-week sessions take place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and typically involve 30 minutes of floor exercises (physical and motor skills) and another 30 minutes in the pool. We work on skills that a child can use at home or in school settings that are functional and useful.

Sign Up!

This program is $30 per child, per semester. Enrollment is limited and varies depending on the number of UGA students enrolled in the class (allowing a 1-to-1 ratio of children and UGA students).

Download the registration form and return it to Nicole Kirk .

Thanks to our Donors

Much of the research, equipment, and student support needed to make the PEMD Clinic a success is thanks to Jon and Matt Stinchcomb, who established the Countdown to Kickoff event to fund the Stinchcomb Graduate Assistantship Fund.

Thanks to the Stinchcombs’ support, children who take part in the clinic receive the necessary exercise and skills training while UGA students are able to gain experience, through a practicum setting, in an adapted physical program.

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