Adapted physical activity : a study of sports for the disabled in the Swedish community

• Children and young people with functional disabilities do not have today the same opportunities to participate in sporting and health-promoting activities as other young people without such handicaps. Sporting activities for these children and teenagers can in many cases only be pursued in their leisure time and are not exploited to any great extent within rehabilitation. Within the curricular framework of the school, special needs teaching in sport and health is available but as with amateur sports provision in general it is dependent on the expertise and methods of the teacher or trainer. Investment in sport in Sweden with the help of ‘HANDSHAKE’ funding has involved some 126 different projects and presumably even more have been carried out for the target group of children and teenagers with functional disabilities. The special study described in this paper was carried out partly as a questionnaire survey involving sports clubs and associations supporting the projects and partly as a more extensive interview survey with six selected clubs / associations. The clubs taking part in the special study were relatively few with a response frequency of 37%. The responses of the clubs are clear in that the projects will be continuing and will become a part of their regular activities. The pre-requisites for a successful project are related to both committed project leaders and financial means while at the same time club leaders have stated that the integration of children and teenagers with functional handicaps is not easy. This is possibly due to the fact that sports clubs and associations are not used to opening up their activities for children and young people with functional disabilities and also that these issues are rarely discussed within the day-to-day running of the clubs. It would be desirable to more clearly tie research and educational investment into the area which would reflect not only community aims but also favour the individual’s opportunities and benefits in terms of sporting and health-promoting activities.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Idrottsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Sport and Fitness Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AREAS

TVÄRVETENSKAPLIGA FORSKNINGSOMRÅDEN

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