Exploring Diverse Perspectives on the Participation of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Physical Education and Sports Activities

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the perspectives on the participation of individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in physical education and sports (PES) activities from diverse viewpoints. In this context, the study explores the opin-ions of parents, rehabilitation center administrators, coaches, and academicians re-garding the participation of individuals with ASD in PES activities. Employing a qual-itative research design, the study was structured within the phenomenological frame-work. Participants were selected using the criterion sampling method, a type of pur-posive sampling. The sample consisted of two parents with a child diagnosed with ASD, two administrators working in rehabilitation centers organizing PES activities for these individuals, two coaches conducting activities with individuals with ASD, and two academicians with undergraduate or graduate education in PES who had ex-perience participating in sports activities with individuals with ASD. Data were col-lected through interviews using a semi-structured interview form. The data were ana-lyzed using content analysis. As a result of the analysis, four main themes were identi-fied: (1) motivation for participation in PES activities and influencing factors, (2) chal-lenges encountered during participation, (3) contributions of PES activities to the de-velopment of individuals with ASD, and (4) additional opinions and suggestions re-garding the participation of individuals with ASD in PES activities.