An amputee is a person who has lost a limb or part of a limb due to disease or trauma during life or as a result of developmental difficulties in the womb. There are over 300,000 amputees in the United States today.

Teaching Tips:

• Most amputees can participate in physical education without much adaptation.
  
• Be sensitive to the fact that amputees may have problems performing balancing activities - loss of a limb can affect a person's center of gravity.
  
• Like other physically disabled students, many amputees need to significantly improve their cardiovascular levels.
  
• Teachers need to remind students using a prosthetic device to wear a stump sock and check periodically for bruises. The device has a tendency to hurt the remaining portion of the limb during vigorous physical activity.
  
• Students lacking both arms or both legs should participate in activities where their disability will affect them the least. These include running, soccer, in-line skating, ice skating, etc., for those without upper limbs and bowling, archery, badminton, etc., for those lacking lower limbs.
  
• Physical educators will need to be sensitive to feelings of inferiority felt by many amputees and work to counteract them.