Educational Instruction and Library

Adapted Physical Education Specialists

Provide individualized physical education instruction or services to children, youth, or adults with exceptional physical needs due to gross motor developmental delays or other impairments.

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Special Education Teachers, All Other

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Adapted Physical Education Specialists. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$76,580USD per year · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$48,440Not published
25th$60,930Not published
50th · Median$76,580Not published
75th$99,690Not published
90th$120,080Not published

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

Adapted Aquatics InstructorAdapted Fitness ProfessionalAdapted Physical Activity SpecialistAdapted Physical Education AideAdapted Physical EducatorAdaptive PE Specialist (Adaptive Physical Education Specialist)Adaptive PE Teacher (Adaptive Physical Education Teacher)Adaptive Physical EducatorAdaptive Skills EducatorAPE Consultant (Adapted Physical Education Consultant)APE Instructional Specialist (Adapted Physical Education Instructional Specialist)APE Teacher (Adapted Physical Education Teacher)
Expand more title examples (10)
Autism Motor SpecialistCertified Adapted Physical EducatorCertified Adaptive Physical EducatorDAPE Specialist (Developmental Adapted Physical Education Specialist)DAPE Teacher (Developmental Adapted Physical Education Teacher)Developmental Physical EducatorMovement Education SpecialistPE Provider (Physical Education Provider)PE Specialist (Physical Education Specialist)PE Teacher (Physical Education Teacher)

Typical tasks

  • Provide adapted physical education services to students with intellectual disabilities, autism, traumatic brain injury, orthopedic impairments, or other disabling condition.
  • Provide students positive feedback to encourage them and help them develop an appreciation for physical education.
  • Provide individual or small groups of students with adapted physical education instruction that meets desired physical needs or goals.
  • Instruct students, using adapted physical education techniques, to improve physical fitness, gross motor skills, perceptual motor skills, or sports and game achievement.
  • Write reports to summarize student performance, social growth, or physical development.
  • Evaluate the motor needs of individual students to determine their need for adapted physical education services.
Expand more tasks (14)
  • Establish and maintain standards of behavior to create safe, orderly, and effective environments for learning.
  • Collaborate with other educational personnel to provide inclusive activities or programs for children with disabilities.
  • Adapt instructional techniques to the age and skill levels of students.
  • Assist in screening or placement of students in adapted physical education programs.
  • Maintain thorough student records to document attendance, participation, or progress, ensuring confidentiality of all records.
  • Prepare lesson plans in accordance with individualized education plans (IEPs) and the functional abilities or needs of students.
  • Assess students' physical progress or needs.
  • Write or modify individualized education plans (IEPs) for students with intellectual or physical disabilities.
  • Discuss with education professionals the physical abilities or disabilities of students and the accommodations required to enhance their school performance.
  • Communicate behavioral observations and student progress reports to students, parents, teachers, or administrators.
  • Attend in-service training, workshops, or meetings to keep abreast of current practices or trends in adapted physical education.
  • Review adapted physical education programs or practices to ensure compliance with government or other regulations.
  • Request or order physical education equipment, following standard procedures.
  • Maintain inventory of instructional equipment, materials, or aids.

Skills used in this work

Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Expand more skills (29)
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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Sources and citation.

Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “Adapted Physical Education Specialists career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.