Purpose
The aim of this study is to develop knowledge about how adapted physical activity (APA) is practiced and expressed among children and young people with disabilities, through habilitation programmes at health sport centres and in their local communities. The project places particular emphasis on the transition between participation in APA during habilitation and participation in the local community. In addition to data from children and young people, the study also includes data from parents/guardians, sports pedagogues and physiotherapists at health sport centres, as well as activity leaders and other significant persons in the local community.
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Participation in physical activity and sport can be a source of joy, mastery, social belonging, and good health. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989, Articles 23 and 31) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) (2006, Article 30.5), all children, with and without disabilities, have the right to participate in play, sport, and leisure activities. Children with disabilities have the right to participate on an equal basis with children without disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been incorporated into the Norwegian Constitution (2014), and Norway has signed and ratified the CRPD. Consequently, Norwegian authorities are obligated to safeguard these provisions at national, regional, and municipal levels.
Whether children and young people with disabilities are able to participate in physical activity on equal terms with their peers without disabilities depends on how municipalities plan, facilitate, and provide services. The reality, however, is that children and young people with disabilities often experience exclusion and a lack of opportunities to participate in leisure activities. Barriers related to the availability and organisation of services in local communities constitute a common environmental barrier, in addition to experienced social barriers such as negative attitudes from others.
Following the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), there has been increased interest in “giving voice” and agency to children. Children are regarded as active and competent social actors who have the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Without their voices, understandings of children’s lives remain incomplete.
Children are diverse and prefer different ways of expressing themselves. The body communicates through movement, posture, body language, gestures, sounds, silence, and through what the child engages with. Within disability research, which includes individuals who have historically been excluded from research, those who express themselves in ways other than spoken language are particularly at risk of exclusion.
In light of the rights and legislation that underpin participation, yet recognising the persistent barriers to engaging in physical activity and exclusionary research practices within the field of disability studies, this study seeks to open participation to all children and young people with disabilities who wish to take part.
Project Description
The study includes a broad spectrum of young people with disabilities, enabling them to communicate their experiences, opportunities, and aspirations related to adapted physical activity in their local environments. Participants are geographically dispersed across urban and rural areas throughout the country. They have diverse disabilities, including cognitive, physical, and sensory impairments, as well as experiences of serious illness in early childhood. Valuable perspectives are also developed through data from parents/guardians, habilitation staff, and individuals in the local community who are in close relation to each young person and selected by the families themselves.
This study has a longitudinal qualitative design. Data are generated through participant observations and semi-structured interviews, conducted first during habilitation and subsequently in each young person’s local community, 3–10 months after the habilitation stay.
The project’s research methodology is Constructivist Grounded Theory (CGT), as developed by Charmaz (2014). The theoretical framework is the Capability Approach, as articulated by Nussbaum (2011). Paradigmatically, the project is situated at the intersection of social constructivism and critical theory, which Charmaz (2014) argues can be a strength, as CGT offers a systematic approach to social justice that promotes the integration of subjective experience with social conditions.
Results
Results are planned for 2027.
