It is a well-acknowledged and accepted belief that physical activity brings benefits to psychosocial health, functional ability and quality of life in general (Janssen & LeBlanc, 2010, p. 2). Amongst physical activities, sports, aerobics, running, or gym work, are areas towards which efforts are directed for increasing the activity levels of the population (Allender et al. 2006, p. 827). Despite these efforts for young people in general, surveys and other evidence reveal that disabled young people are still significantly less active as compared to their non-disabled peers. This applies both within a school PE curriculum context and a community setting. The focus of this report is to provide the Liverpool local authority with an analysis of the issues and identification of the best means for increasing the involvement of young disabled people in school-based PE and sport. .
Analysis of the specific issues faced by disabled young people that affect their ability of participation in school-based PE and sport:.
There are three type of disabilities that can affect a person; physical impairment, visual impairment, and intellectual disability. For children and adults with these disabilities there are a number of sports which include, football, volleyball, table tennis, snooker, and many others. They are also provided with opportunities to play with their non-disabled peers. A survey by English Federation of Disability Sports (2013) of 476 respondents, however, revealed that about two-thirds of disabled people preferred taking part in sport or physical activity with a mix of non-disabled and disabled people, but only 51% of people suggested that they currently did so. The report revealed that this was because barriers existed for the disabled at school, with around half of the respondents indicating that their experience of sport at school is not an enjoyable experience. Rimmer and Rowland (2007) also report in their account that children and youth with disabilities engage in less school-based physical activity.
