European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity - Most viewed articles
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TEACHING GAMES FOR UNDERSTANDING (TGFU) AS A POSITIVE AND VERSATILE APPROACH TO TEACHING ADAPTED GAMES
Kendall Jarrett, Serge Eloi, Stephen Harvey
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 7, 6-20 (2014) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2014.001 
This paper presents a small scale research project that focused on pre-service physical education (PE)teachers' and sports coaches' considerations of using Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) to teachgames. A research design akin to action research was adopted whereby pre-service PE teachers and sportscoaches (n = 72) completed a one-off 90 minute introduction to wheelchair rugby league utilising a TGfUapproach. Data were generated through end of session whole-class reflections, semi-structured individualinterviews undertaken (n = 3), and post session first-author/primary practitioner reflections. Data analysiswas conducted via inductive coding...
A review of studies using the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK)
Susanna Iivonen, Arja Kaarina Sääkslahti, Arto Laukkanen
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 8, 18-36 (2015) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2015.006
The Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK) (Kiphard & Schilling, 1974, 2007) is a standardized, norm-referenced measure used by physical therapists and occupational therapists in clinic and school practice settings to evaluate the motor coordination (MC) of 5- to 14-year-old children. To find out for which research purposes the KTK has been used and its reliability and validity, we conducted a systematic review. Searching five databases, we found 46 studies used the KTK over four decades. The KTK was widely used in Europe in children with typical and atypical development. The KTK was used to investigate associations, to test the effects of interventions...
5-a-side football for individuals with visual impairments: A review of the literature
José Martín Gamonales, Jesús Muñoz-Jiménez, Kiko León-Guzmán, Sergio J. Ibáñez
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 11, 4 (2018) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2018.004
The present study aims to conduct a structured literature review based on the results found concerning the term 5-a-side football for individuals with visual impairments. The following keywords were used as descriptors in the reference search: 5-a-side football, football, blind and football for the blind and soccer for the blind. The words were introduced in English, Portuguese and Spanish databases. In order to narrow the search, four inclusion criteria were introduced: i) Mention at least one characteristic of 5-a-side football for individuals with visual impairments, ii) Any type of document is included, iii) Only documents in full-text or abstract...
EUCAPA 2024 - Book of Abstracts
EUCAPA
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 17, 10 (2024) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.007
European Congress of Adapted Physical Activity 2024, Seville, Spain. Book of abstracts.
Quality of life and health among persons with severe physical disabilities after participation in Team Twin – a push-assisted recreational running programme: A 16-week pre- and post-study
Andreas Jørgensen, Mette Toftager, Mark P.P. Lyngbaek, Grit E. Legaard, Mathias Ried-Larsen, Christina Bjørk Petersen
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 18, 9 (2025) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2025.004
There is limited research on the health benefits of recreational sports for adults with severe physical disabilities. The Danish Team Twin has introduced an inclusive push-assisted running activity that involves both people with and without disabilities running together using specially designed running chairs. This study aimed to determine if participation in this activity could improve quality of life (QoL) and physical, mental and social health outcomes. The study was conducted over 16 weeks, with one weekly push-assisted running session averaging 77 minutes each. A single-arm pre-post design was applied. Health outcomes and participation perception...
Motor skills interventions in children with developmental coordination disorder: A review study
Daehyoung Lee, Rudolf Psotta, Milena Vagaja
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 9, 20-29 (2016) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2016.007
Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) demonstrate significant motor deficits that place themat risk for other health problems such as low physical activity (PA) and overweight/obesity. There is a need to updatethe effect of diverse movement-based interventions that use gross motor skills to improve psychomotor developmentof this population. Thus, the purpose of this review study was to investigate the characteristics of effectivemotor skills interventions for children with DCD, analyzing types of motor tasks, instructional strategies, and learningenvironment. Studies published between January 1994 and December 2015 were extracted...
The use of adapted boxing as a rehabilitation strategy in people with diverse health conditions: a systematic review
Miguel A. Sánchez-Lastra, Carlos Ayán, Mesut Sener, José M. Cancela
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 13, 6 (2020) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2020.004
Boxing exercise programs without direct contact with an opponent, is an adapted physical activity that integrate a series of tasks that may have positive effects on people with diverse health conditions. This study aimed to analyze the scientific evidence available on the effects of using adapted boxing as a rehabilitation strategy on people with diverse health conditions. A systematic review of the scientific literature was performed on studies which dealt with the effects of boxing as a rehabilitation strategy in people with diverse health conditions. Two modified scales were applied to assess the methodological quality of the findings. A total of...
Elite performance in para-cycling: A scoping review
Albert Smit, Ina Janssen, Florentina J. Hettinga, Jos J. de Koning, Mathijs J. Hofmijster, Thomas W. J. Janssen
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 17, 2 (2024) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2023.009
Elite para-cycling needs an overview of relevant and valid research to better understand and improve performance and to develop the sport, using evidence-based decision making. The aim of this scoping review was to 1) provide a research overview of performance and performance determining factors in elite para-cycling to aid coaches and elite athletes, and 2) highlight the gaps in the literature. Four databases (PubMed, SportDiscus, Scopus and MEDLINE) were systematically searched for studies on para-cycling performance and performance factors and 68 relevant studies were identified. Using a conceptual framework based on a power balance model, most...
The effect of attentional focus based on learning stages on motor learning in children with intellectual disabilities
Rasool Zeidabadi, Ensieh Sadat Askari Tabar, Morteza Pourazar
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 18, 3 (2025) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.013
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different focus of attention (Internal, External, and Mixed) instructions on the acquisition and learning of a throwing skill in children with intellectual disabilities. Thirty boys with intellectual disabilities (M = 12.1 SD = 1.42 years) with an intelligence quotient ranging between 50 and 69 participated in this study. All participants were randomly assigned to three groups (internal: focusing on the movements of their throwing hand, external: focusing on the movement of the beanbag, and mixed: focusing on the movement of their hand in the first half of training and focusing on the movement...
Sport commitment in Taiwanese para-athletes
Andy Wei-Ru Yao, Deborah Shapiro, Cheng-Chen Pan, Wei-Ren Chen
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 18, 4 (2025) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.014
While the Sport Commitment Model (SCM) has been widely used in research, recent studies suggest increasing scholarly interest in exploring additional antecedents to this model. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), with its emphasis on factors influencing motivation, may provide a framework for exploring supplemental constructs to better understand the sport commitment of para-athletes with disabilities. This study examined the relationship among four potential SCT factors (i.e., sport enjoyment, perceived competence, sport friendship quality, external rewards) in predicting two dimensions of sport commitment: enthusiastic commitment and constrained...
An evaluation of social media images portrayal of disability discourse: #amputeefitness
Fallon R. Mitchell, Sara Santarossa, Isuri L. Ramawickrama, Emily F. Rankin, Jessica A. Yaciuk, Erin R. McMahon, Paula M. van Wyk
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 12, 10 (2019) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2019.010
The widespread use and influential impact of social media has made it increasingly important to analyze the social norms and discourses that are being presented and promoted among social media users. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether the conversation and images associated with #amputeefitness on Instagram promoted the medical model discourse (i.e., a focus on aesthetic) or the social model of disability discourse (i.e., a focus on adapted physical activity). Using the Netlytic software, all publicly available Instagram media tagged with #amputeefitness were collected, and a text and image analysis were performed....
The Invictus Games Categorisation System: A framework for adapted sports
Helen Blamey, Janet Lawson, Celina H. Shirazipour
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 17, 13 (2024) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.010
Categorisation (also called classification) systems are a fundamental part of adapted sports. While current systems seek to promote fair participation, they may also conversely prevent individuals experiencing diverse and complex physical and psychological illnesses and injuries from engaging in adapted sports. Drawing on the experiences and perspectives of stakeholders working with the Invictus Games Foundation, this paper describes the Invictus Games categorisation system, an innovative framework for non-elite adapted sport competition that seeks to integrate individuals experiencing these diverse conditions. We review (a) the development of the...
A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial to Enhance Well-Being and Performance of Athletes in Para Sports
Hannah Macdougall, Paul O’Halloran, Emma Sherry, Nora Shields
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 12, 7 (2019) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2019.006
Existing mindfulness and acceptance-commitment programs in elite sport have ignored elite athletes with a physical disability. A pilot randomised controlled trial was conducted to determine if an eight-session mindfulness-acceptance-commitment program delivered within a motivational interviewing framework would enhance well-being in Para-Sport athletes. Eighteen Para-Sport athletes were randomly assigned to either intervention (n = 9) or waitlist control (n = 9) groups, with the intervention group attending eight 60-minute face-to-face individual sessions. Analysis of covariance showed statistically significant improvements in the primary outcomes...
Rethinking daily movement behaviors of children wth autism spectrum disorder: meeting the 24-hour movement guidelines
Sean Healy, Freda Patterson, Edward Williams, Alicia J. Lozano, Alexandra L. Hanlon, Iva Obrusnikova
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 13, 8 (2020) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2020.006
In an effort to promote optimal health in all children, 24-hour movement guidelines that provide specific recommendations for physical activity, screen-time, and sleep have been developed (≥ 1 hour of physical activity, ≤ 2 hours of screen-time, 9-11 hours of sleep). Children who meet the recommendations for these health behaviours are less likely to be obese than those who do not meet them. This study compared the degree to which children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) children met the newly developed 24-hour movement guidelines. A propensity-score matched sample of 72 children (36 children with ASD,...
‘The blind leading the blind’ - A reflection on coaching blind football
David Mycock, Győző Molnár
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 14, 3 (2021) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2020.011
There are well-established links between successful athlete development, retention and high-quality coaching. Such links between athletes and coaches are also pertinent in disability sports. However, there is limited knowledge around coaching and coaches’ needs and barriers in disability sport. To bridge this gap, a self-narrative approach was employed covering a 5-year period of the first author’s career of coaching Blind (B1) and Visually Impaired (VI) football. This personal account provides a narrative, which identifies a range of key issues around the challenges of coaching practice in adapted football. Personal stories are presented...
Sleep habits, quality and chronotype of Paralympic athletes
Dekkel Bachar, Davidah Koseff, Osnat Fliess Douer
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 15, 3 (2022) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2021.014
This study aimed to understand the sleeping habits of Israeli Paralympic Athletes as a pre-intervention stage to implement sleep hygiene programs. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire was used to assess sleep quality. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale was used to determine sleepiness throughout the day. Chronotype was detected using the Horne and Östberg Questionnaire. Para-athletes who were expected to represent Israel at the Tokyo 2020 games were approached via email. The surveys were collected online between April and August, 2018. Para-athletes (n = 52, male = 32, female = 20, mean age = 31.2y, SD = 11.9, from 13 different sport disciplines)...
EUCAPA 2022 Book of Abstracts
European Conference of Adapted Physical Activity
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 15, 6 (2022) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2022.003
This is the book of abstracts for the European Conference of Adapted Physical Activity (EUCAPA) 2022. The event is held between the 9th - 11th June 2022 and hosted by the University of Coimbra, Portugal.
Online training on inclusive physical education: differences in self-efficacy and attitudes of pre-service pe teachers across disability and activity
Yeshayahu Hutzler, Hila Beck, Bari Reichman, Aviva Goral
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 17, 7 (2024) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.004
Online education is increasingly implemented in educational programs. This study aimed to explore the differences before and after an online course on self-efficacy (SE) and attitudes of physical education students towards including children with disabilities in their classes across five categories of disability and three categories of activity context. An online survey was completed pre-course and post-course by 171 (92 females) physical education teacher education (PETE) students, to evaluate their attitudes as well as SE in situational-specific contexts, including fitness training, skill learning, and game participation. The five-question survey...
EUDAPA: Academic, social and employment assessment of an international programme
Ramiro Muñoz-Calvo, Saleky García-Gómez, Jyrki Vilhu, Javier Pérez-Tejero
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 18, 2 (2025) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.015
The European Diploma in Adapted Physical Activity (EUDAPA) is an international program focused on the adapted physical activity (APA) field. Students and teachers come from different places around the world in order to share. The aim of this study was to assess the opinion of EUDAPA alumni about the influence of the programme in their applied APA professional knowledge, competences, skills, socialization, and future employment capability. An ad hoc questionnaire was developed from a proposed evaluation of those skills, which was assessed and validated through experts' opinion. Thereafter, the tool was sent by email to all of the 136 alumni who took...
Experiences of children with autism spectrum disorders in adapted physical education
Josephine Blagrave
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 10, 17-27 (2017) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2017.003
School-age children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are rarely asked to describe their experiences within the programs that they receive and are largely missing from the narrative of their own lives. Current literature on the experiences of children with ASD have focused on special education classrooms, sensory perceptions, and general physical education classes and no prior studies have addressed how middle school-age children with ASD perceive their adapted physical education (APE) experience. Data were collected from participants (N = 10) through a drawing, an observation in their APE setting, and an interview. Themes identified were enjoyment...
Theory of planned behaviour for physical activity of adults living with physical disabilities: A replication systematic review
Myung Ha Sur, Deborah Shapiro
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 15, 8 (2022) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2021.015
Programme interventionists often determine best practices from systematic reviews of the literature. Interpretations of findings from systematic reviews, however, are susceptible to subjective decisions of the authors. Replication of systematic reviews by different authors on the same topic can increase the authenticity of findings, analysis, and interpretations. The purposes of the current paper were to (a) replicate a systematic literature review using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to understand the intention of adults living with physical disabilities to participate in PA, and (b) compare the findings with a published systematic literature...
Fear of mistakes: Physical education and activity experiences of autistic teenagers
Cam Lesslie, A. Josephine Blagrave
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 17, 5 (2024) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.002
Individuals on the autism spectrum can have behavioral, physical, and social difficulties. This can limit their participation in physical education, which reduces the physical, social, and psychological benefits received from physical activity. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the physical education and physical activity experiences of students on the autism spectrum aged 13–18 years old. One time, semi structured interviews were conducted on nine participants recruited from schools in Northern California to explore their experiences in PE and PA. Two themes emerged from the participants: (a) interpersonal influences, which...
Perspectives of students with intellectual disabilities on Inclusive Physical Education in Germany
Matthias Zimlich, Christiane Reuter
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 17, 9 (2024) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.006
The perspectives of students are considered an essential aspect for a successful inclusive Physical Education (PE). However, the voices of students with intellectual disability (SIDs) have hardly been heard so far. This qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 SIDs in two cooperative PE settings and analysed them by using thematic analysis. From the results, the perspectives are equivocal and seem strongly to depend on the school setting, which comprises teachers, students without disabilities (SWDs) and the school environment and thus support the bio-psychosocial model of disability. From the findings, we also show that physical...
Bayesian analysis of parental intentions to promote physical activity in young people with cerebral palsy.
Alfredo Ruiz, Taija Finni, Pauli Rintala, Kaisa Kaseva, Kwok Ng
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 18, 10 (2025) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2025.006
This study investigates the determinants of parents’ intentions to support physical activity in their children with cerebral palsy (CP), guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). It is hypothesized that parental intention to support PA in young people with CP will be influenced by attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. Sixteen parents of young people with CP participating in the Exercises for CP (EXECP) intervention, were surveyed using a questionnaire developed based on the TPB constructs: Attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, and intention. Data was collected prior to the 3-month EXECP...
‘It’s a challenge’: Post primary physical education teachers’ experiences of and perspectives on inclusive practice with students with disabilities
Ona McGrath, Susan Crawford, Dan O’Sullivan
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 12, 2 (2019) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2018.011
Internationally, several studies have indicated insufficient emphasis on the theory and practice of inclusion in relation to disability, in both initial teacher education and continuing professional development programmes for Physical Education (PE) teachers. This has resulted in some negative attitudes and perceived lack of competency among teachers in relation to inclusive practices in PE. There is a lack of in-depth studies in this regard from an Irish perspective. This current study sought to explore seven PE teachers’ experiences and perspectives in relation to the inclusion of students with disabilities in four post primary schools using...
Measurement properties of scores from a novel blind football assessment for adolescents with visual impairments
Adam Pennell, Emily Gilbert, Ali Brian, Pamela Beach, Lauren Lieberman
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 15, 4 (2022) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2021.012
Football (soccer) is one of the most popular sports for individuals with visual impairments (VI) worldwide but nascent within the United States (US). While there is burgeoning interest toward developing blind football at grassroot and national levels, particularly with the forthcoming 2028 Paralympics, no football-based talent identification or skill assessment has been developed or vetted in the US. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the immediate measurement properties of scores from a novel football assessment in amateur-skilled adolescents with VI in the US. Adolescents (n = 57) with VI physically completed the Blind Football...
Situational interest of students with autism spectrum disorder using context personalization in physical education
Claudia Verret, Cédric Roure, Cassandre Ouellet, Line Massé, Johanne Grenier, Geneviève Bergeron
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 15, 13 (2022) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2022.008
Physical education can enable students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to live positive experiences and adopt a healthy lifestyle. However, motivation may be a critical factor in their success. In this perspective, the context personalization approach could be valuable to support the interests and motivation of students with ASD in physical education. This qualitative interpretative research documents the Situational Interest dimensions of four high school male students with ASD (14 years old, boys) following a team sports unit conceived and personalized by their physical education teacher to meet their interest in video games. After the unit,...
Validity and reliability of field tests to assess performance of wheelchair rugby athletes: A preliminary study
Sonja De Groot, Laurie A. Malone, Susan R. Wilbanks, Thomas W. J. Janssen, C. Scott Bickel
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 17, 6 (2024) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.003
Quality field tests of athletic performance are important tools for coaches and athletes to evaluate athlete capabilities and changes over time. Current field tests for wheelchair rugby have not been well evaluated. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of five wheelchair rugby field tests (ball passing, two sprint tests, two agility tests). Wheelchair rugby players (n = 12) performed the field tests on 2 occasions, separated by 2 weeks, and performed a maximal isokinetic upper-extremity strength test (shoulder flexors and extensors). Spearman correlation was used to examine the relationship among the different field...
“When We Dance It’s Never Just Dancing...”: Understanding the experiences and perspectives of adult dancers with neurodevelopmental disability.
Jacqueline C. Ladwig, Elena M. Broeckelmann, Kathryn M. Sibley, Jacquie Ripat, Cheryl M. Glazebrook
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 17, 14 (2024) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.011
Dance is an activity that engages the physical, cognitive, and social dimensions of movement and health. Research in dance and disability is often focused on reducing symptoms and behaviours, rather than individual experiences. Using a constructionist lens, we explored the meaning of dance as shared through personal narratives from adult dancers who live with neurodevelopmental disability and aimed to deepen our understanding of their experiences and perspectives on instruction. Interviews were conducted with 14 dancers from across Canada and the United States. Through an iterative thematic analysis, we identified three main themes and contextualized...
The use of psychological skills in Deaflympic sport
Alon Markov-Glazer, Anne-Marie Elbe, Rainer Schliermann
European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 17, 15 (2024) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2024.012
This study explores the use of psychological skills among Deaflympic athletes and aims to provide initial insights into sport psychology practices in this overlooked population. To this end, the frequency of psychological skills’ usage, usage patterns, and differences between subgroups were examined within this population. The Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS) was administered to 84 German Deaflympic athletes (mean age = 28; 27% female) along with biographical questions (e.g., hearing status). The findings indicate that Deaflympic athletes regularly utilize psychological skills in training and competition, displaying similar usage to that...