APA Minor

Jack is 24 and has been involved in APA activities at WCU since he has 8 years old. He attended the Wednesday night program and has been involved with Special Olympics soccer, basketball and swimming. He also plays Challenger baseball. Currently Jack is volunteering at Katie Mac, the West Chester Food Cupboard and Thorncroft Equestrian.

Jack enjoys all physical actives and tries to keep very active. Now that Jack is 24, it would be great to have an Adult APA program. It is nice to have structure and skill learning, but it is also helpful to have access to a gym where you could just meet and play different sports with your peers.

The WCU APA program has set Jack up for success to be healthy and physically active. We try and carry over to our daily lives as much as possible.

Larissa Berkowitz is a parent of a neurodiverse child and an advocate for services and support for neurodivergent individuals in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. She brings firsthand insight as both a parent and a Human Resources Business Partner/Sr. Generalist supporting the Adult Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Services – PA & DE division at Elwyn. Larissa’s experience informs her work in personal advocacy and strategic planning to expand employment and community inclusion opportunities for people with disabilities. A Pennsylvania State University graduate with a Master's in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s in English, Larissa holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) designation and is a member of the Neurodiversity Employment Network of Philadelphia. She joined the board in 2026 and serves on the Adapted Physical Program and Community Programming Board.

Larissa resides in Chester County, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Dave, and daughter, Michelle, after returning to Pennsylvania following 10 years in Connecticut.

A mother of three children: Caroline (21), Ian (19), and her youngest, Patrick (15), who has a rare NR4A2-related genetic disorder—a neurological condition that affects development, communication, motor skills, and behavior. Patrick is an excellent swimmer and is actively involved in WCU Special Olympics Rammies swimming and Special Olympics basketball, as well as Unified bocce, Unified track and field, and other gym-related activities. Patrick has participated in the WCU Wednesday Night Adapted Physical Education Program since 2022 and has been a client at the WCU Speech & Hearing Clinic since 2021.

Claire has been married to her husband, Larry, for 26 years and is the administrator of the Facebook group Chester County (PA) Special Needs Community, where she enjoys sharing relevant events and offering insight drawn from her lived experience navigating Patrick’s journey. During the week, she works as a Senior Subcontracts Manager at Michael Baker International, bringing the same organization, empathy, and leadership to her professional role that she values in her family and community life. She is excited to be a part of the WCU Adapted Programming Advisory Board, where she looks forward to contributing her expertise within the disability community.

efoster@wcupa.edu

Dr. Beth Foster, CAPE (certified adapted physical educator), is an associate professor at West Chester University in adapted physical activity/education (APA/E). She is the APA/E program coordinator and graduate coordinator of the APE graduate certificate program, and the director of the Adapted Physical Activity minor. Dr. Foster is also the director for Camp Abilities, which is a developmental sports camp for youth with vision loss that occurs over Memorial Day weekend at WCU. She is the head coach of Special Olympics Rammies hosted here at West Chester for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Dr. Foster has presented internationally and nationally at conferences on research and various application-based topics on vision loss/deafblindness, adaptations, and assessment within the field of APA/E and adapted sports. She completed deafblind intervener training at the Minnesota Deafblind Project. Dr. Foster was named the 2012 Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance APE teacher of the year and is also English as a Secondary Language certified. She is currently a member of the Pennsylvania Deaf-Blind Advisory Committee and is also a special advisor for the Pennsylvania Partnership for the Deafblind. She was previously research chair for the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID). She is also a certified Adapted Aquatics Instructor through Starfish International. In addition, Dr. Foster has been involved with various adapted sport organizations and disability organizations promoting physical activities, fitness, adapted sports, and aquatics for all individuals with disabilities.