The Provision of Disability Sports in Schools

Abstract

Physical activity is a way all individuals maintain their health. Many public health and physical educators promote physical activity of those with disabilities, particularly to increase their socialization and physical health while decreasing comorbidities. One way for individuals with disabilities to develop their physical activity is through sport. However, we rarely assess the provision of sport opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Title IX holds schools accountable to the provision of athletic opportunities across genders, the ADA and Rehabilitation Act do not. We present a case for the importance of accountability regarding sport for individuals with disabilities, particularly shifting from a medical model to a social model for the provision of sport. The purpose of this paper is to call attention to the lack of understanding on the provision of disability sport in the United States. In particular we highlight the lack of national data on this topic as well as the administration of athletics in schools as possible areas for improvement.

Article Summary:

If we improve the provision and accessibility in sport, we can change how society includes disability into its diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates.

Sport participation for able-bodied individuals has been demonstrated to improve one’s physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and cognitive well-being, particularly among individuals with disabilities¹. However, we rarely critically assess sport participation for those with disabilities in the same manner that we enforce Title IX for sport participation opportunities for both genders. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act mandates that students with disabilities are afforded sport participation opportunities, however, the data does not exist on the provision and inclusion of children with disabilities into sport activities. ADA defines a person with a disability as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. Although we understand the benefits from a public health perspective, there needs to be a connection and actionable effort among key gate keepers in sport management and administration (e.g., athletic directors) to build and track participation opportunities in sport among children with disabilities that is similar to Title IX which has been successful for creating greater access for girls and women to participate in sport.

The need for and benefits of sport and physical activity for individuals with disabilities has been established^2–4. Individuals with disabilities are less likely to participate in organized social events, have a higher degree of being stigmatized, and tend to be more isolated because of their physical disability¹⁰. Psychologically, individuals with disabilities report more days of depression, anxiety, and sleeplessness compared to the number of days they feel mentally strong⁴; this number of reported days of poor psychological wellness is higher than what has been reported by those without impairments¹. Moreover, researchers have also indicated that individuals with disabilities have higher rates of sedentary behaviors¹. Indeed, a large percentage (over 40%) of people with disabilities rate their health as fair or poor^4,5. Individuals with disabilities are less likely to engage in physical activities and experience other comorbidities, such as reduced quality of life, anxiety and depression. Physical activity and sports participation have been associated with helping improve anxiety and depression in able-bodied individuals, and therefore there is a need for more opportunities for physical activity and sports participation for individuals with disabilities.

Sport opportunities provide many benefits to those with disabilities. Physical activity reduces the risk for numerous chronic and other medical conditions for individuals with disabilities (i.e. Obesity, high blood pressure, urinary tract infections)^8,9. Sport provides individuals with disabilities opportunities to lessen loneliness, develop friendships, experience being part of a group, and a sense of comradery³. Additionally, just as able-bodied individuals experience gains in psychological areas, so do those with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities experience an increased level of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and enhanced level of perceived competence¹. Because of sport, individuals with disabilities have found their “identity” as athletes^1,6. This identity becomes more positive and breaks the mold of the “medically” impaired individual defined by their disability, to being defined as an athlete.

Data from the most current Office of Civil Rights Data collection indicates that 12.7% of students who attend U.S. public high schools (offering grade 9 through 12) that offer interscholastic sport, meet the definition of a student with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)⁷. Moreover, given that 13.1% of all U.S. public high school students indicate some type of disability, it is critical to determine if they are afforded equal access to opportunities to engage in sport and physical activity within these educational settings.⁷ Currently, it is not possible to track these opportunities for disabled youth because large-scale school based surveys that include measures to assess sport participation among U.S. youth do not include measures to assess if students are physically disabled.

The barriers associated with providing an inclusive environment for individuals with disabilities are not well understood. Researchers have found a few key barriers in small studies, which vary across gender and the seriousness of the participation, including factors such as financial resources, negative attitudes towards people with disabilities, coaching, equipment, and facilities to name a few^11,12. Most times this falls on the shoulders of the adapted physical education specialist at the school. It could be more effective if changing the landscape of sport opportunities for those with disabilities fell on the shoulders of those managing and administering sports, mostly individuals from the field of sport management. The field of sport management engages in the development of sport opportunities, management, and administration of sport programs at all levels from youth and high school to collegiate and professional. Diversity is seen as an important component to the field, particularly when it comes to gender and race, but less so when it comes to disability.

Changing the diversity of the sport industry, on the field and in opportunities, is an important mission. Sport management scholars do little research in the area of disability sport¹³, minimally include disability sport in textbooks¹⁵, and rarely discuss the concept of inclusion of disability sport into sport programs. The most frequent discussion around disabilities focuses on ADA compliance, particularly regarding facilities and lawsuits, not the inclusion of participation opportunities for those with disabilities¹⁵. The other area of focus of disability sport is the Paralympic Games and their ‘supercrip’ representation in the media¹⁴, which doesn’t relate to participation opportunities for students in schools. Without sport management scholars discussing disability sport and expanding the knowledge of the industry to include disability in their definition of diversity, change will be non-existent or slow.

When sport managers do discuss disability sport it is about inclusion in which these individuals are looking for a choice of how they want to be included. Inclusion in sport should provide opportunities across a spectrum from integrated sport opportunities with able bodied individuals to a separate sport solely for those with similar disabilities. Inclusion in sport should be about the provision of sport for those with disabilities to ensure that everyone is given an equal chance and choice to participate. The school level is the prime opportunity for individuals with disabilities to engage in sport where skills are at the forefront and performance is secondary. All of this cannot be accomplished without accountability which comes from data, research on the monitoring of opportunities provided to students with disabilities needs to be established at the school-level and national school based surveys need to consider adding questions on disability status given that 13% of students in U.S. public schools can be considered to have a disability. Without this systematic monitoring, which is meant to audit and ensure equity as it relates to access to sport, students with disabilities will not have any factual evidence to determine if they are being provided these opportunities in an equitable manner.

In order to change the narrative and opportunities surrounding individuals with disabilities participating in sport we need to acknowledge where we are starting from. On a national scale, we do not have a database of information on what sport programs are offered for individuals with disabilities within schools or communities. Moreover, we also do not know what level of inclusion is occurring within sports among youth with and without disabilities or what barriers youth with disabilities face when entering sports with their non-disabled peers. Currently, the inability to publically track opportunities to participate in sport among disabled youth means that we are falling short of providing equal opportunities of program benefits for all athletes as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. There cannot be accountability without data on the provision of participation opportunities.