TY - JOUR
T1 - ‘Happy and a bit nervous’: The experiences of children with autism in physical education
T2 - The experiences of children with autism in physical education
AU - Healy, Sean
AU - Msetfi, Rachel
AU - Gallagher, Stephen
PY - 2013/9
Y1 - 2013/9
N2 - Twelve students with autistic disorder participated in interviews to reveal their perspective of physical education. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken to provide a comprehensive account of the data. Three key themes emerged, each a compilation of a set of subthemes. The first theme, individual challenges, was comprised of physical ability, sensory challenges and a fear of injury. The second theme, peer interactions, encapsulated subthemes of initiation of friendship, camaraderie, social comparison and bullying. The final theme that emerged from the data was exclusion, which attends to children's experiences of being excluded by the teacher or as a result of activities being too difficult. Most notably, however, this theme relates to children requesting to be excluded. These findings are discussed in relation to research on the perspectives of students with and without disabilities. Considerations for future research are also provided.
AB - Twelve students with autistic disorder participated in interviews to reveal their perspective of physical education. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken to provide a comprehensive account of the data. Three key themes emerged, each a compilation of a set of subthemes. The first theme, individual challenges, was comprised of physical ability, sensory challenges and a fear of injury. The second theme, peer interactions, encapsulated subthemes of initiation of friendship, camaraderie, social comparison and bullying. The final theme that emerged from the data was exclusion, which attends to children's experiences of being excluded by the teacher or as a result of activities being too difficult. Most notably, however, this theme relates to children requesting to be excluded. These findings are discussed in relation to research on the perspectives of students with and without disabilities. Considerations for future research are also provided.
KW - Adapted physical education
KW - Autism
KW - Inclusive
KW - Student perspective
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84881536728&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/bld.12053
DO - 10.1111/bld.12053
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84881536728
SN - 1354-4187
VL - 41
SP - 222
EP - 228
JO - British Journal of Learning Disabilities
JF - British Journal of Learning Disabilities
IS - 3
ER -