Practice

Special Issue: Global Matrix of 2022 Para Report Cards on Physical Activity of Children and Adolescents With Disabilities, opens in a new tab. Ng K.W. (ed.), Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, Volume 40(3), (July 2023). This special edition provides an overview and details of the results from 14 countries or jurisdictions in a Global Matrix of Para Report Cards on physical activity (PA) of children and adolescents with disabilities. The methodology was based on the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance’s Global Matrix 4.0. Data were aligned with 10 indicators (Overall PA, Organized Sport, Active Play, Active Transport, Physical Fitness, Sedentary Behavior, Family & Peers, Schools, Community & Environment, and Government) to produce Para Report Cards. Subsequently, there were 139 grades; 45% were incomplete, particularly for Active Play, Physical Fitness, and Family & Peers. Collectively, Overall PA was graded the lowest (F), with Schools and Government the highest (C). Disability-specific surveillance and research gaps in PA were apparent in 14 countries or jurisdictions around the world.

Promoting Physical Activity Among Children and Adolescents With Disabilities: The Translation of Policy to Practice Internationally, opens in a new tab, Sit C; Aubert S; et al., Journal of Physical Activity and Health, Volume 19(11), pps.758-768, (22 October 2022). Physical inactivity among children and adolescents with disabilities (CAWD) is a global public health issue. Policy efforts to promote physical activity (PA) among CAWD have increased. This study summarizes the international policy trend for promoting PA among CAWD, with behavioral and policy insights specific to CAWD from country/regional indicators from the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance Matrix on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents to determine policy translation into practice.

Accessibility Guide, opens in a new tab, International Paralympic Committee, (October 2020). Designed to assist Organising Committees (OCOG) and host city authorities in the successful planning and delivery of the Games. Inside the publication are a combination of supporting information, guidelines, recommendations, construction building codes and previous Games examples to help OCOGs and their partners deliver an inclusive sporting event. Furthermore, the document has been created with a wider audience in mind to assist similar organisers and hosts across the globe in creating a more accessible and inclusive environment. The Guide features details on a wide range of areas including accommodation, transportation, venue layout, access to information and services, along with best practices for disability and awareness training.

The Agitos Foundation, opens in a new tab is the development arm of the IPC and take our name from the Paralympic Symbol – the Agitos – which is derived from the Latin verb "to move". They deliver programmes to support the IPC’s vision ‘to make for an inclusive world through sport’. Programmes are delivered within four priority themes: pathways; awareness; representation; and ambassadors.

Unified Schools Resources, opens in a new tab. These resources aim to support students, educators, coaches, and other members of the global community in furthering inclusion in education through Unified Schools programming.

Youth Leadership Resources, opens in a new tab. These resources aim to support Special Olympics Youth Leaders, adult mentors, and other global members in leading the way for a more inclusive future

Briefs and Case Studies, opens in a new tab. The Global Center for Inclusion in Education publishes research and policy briefs on inclusion in education, along with case studies showcasing the exemplary work of Special Olympics staff, coaches, volunteers, athletes, and youth.

Spread the Word, opens in a new tab. All of the tools you need to host a 'Spread the Word Inclusion event' at any time.

Disability and Sports, opens in a new tab, United Nations, (accessed 31 July 2025). The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the first legally binding international instrument to address the rights of persons with disabilities and sport. Article 30 of the Convention addresses both mainstream and disability-specific sport and stipulates that “States Parties shall take appropriate measures to encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels”. It also calls upon Governments, States party to the Convention, to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to sport and recreational venues — as spectators and as active participants. This also requires that children with disabilities be included in physical education within the school system “to the fullest extent possible” and enjoy equal access to “play, recreation and leisure and sporting activities”.

• Article 30 - Participation in cultural life, recreation, leisure and sport, opens in a new tab, United Nations (2006).
• Sport as a means to promote education, health, development and peace, opens in a new tab (A/RES/69/6). Resolution adopted by the General Assembly 31 October 2014.

Policy on Sport for Persons with a Disability, opens in a new tab, Government of Canada, Sport Canada, (2006). This Policy provides a framework for engaging partners and stakeholders in initiating changes that aim to reduce and ultimately eliminate sport-specific barriers that prevent persons with a disability from participating in sport. At the same time, the Policy addresses some of the environmental, structural, systemic, social and personal barriers that keep many persons with a disability from being full participants in Canadian society. The Policy envisions the full and active participation of persons with a disability in Canadian sport at all levels and in all forms, to the extent of their abilities and interests.

Canadian Disability Participation Project 2.0 (CDPP), opens in a new tab, (accessed 31 July 2025). The CDPP is a research partnership of 43 academics from across Canada, the United States and England and 31 partners from Canadian sport, exercise and play organizations and academic institutions. Our partners are committed to improving quality participation in the areas of sport, exercise, and active play for people experiencing disability. Many of our partners share their lived experience of disability and/or professional expertise to guide our research. The goal of CDPP is to co-create and mobilize new knowledge to improve quality participation in sport, exercise, and active play and optimize outcomes of participation among children, youth, and adults experiencing disability. The CDPP have produced a large number of projects, resources, publications, toolkits, knowledge translation bulletins, and more, including:

• Blueprint for Building Quality Participation in Sport for Blind and Partially-Sighted Athletes – A Guide for Program Leaders, opens in a new tab, (May 2025). Adapted from the CDPP’s 'Blueprint for building Quality Participation in Sport for Children, Youth, and Adults with a Disability', this Blueprint provides strategies to help program leaders develop the knowledge necessary to support blind and partially sighted athletes and learn more about the blind community.
• Disability and Physical Activity Program Evaluation Toolkit, opens in a new tab, (August 2023). Designed for disability and sport organizations who want to evaluate their programs and initiatives. A team of researchers and community partners developed the toolkit. All measures and resources are valid for use among the disability population. This toolkit can also be used/adapted for people/programs outside of the disability population (i.e., the toolkit is inclusive for all programs/mixed ability programs).
• Volunteer Training and Management, opens in a new tab, A.C. Grimes, S. B. Shepperdson, C. Combdon, et. al., (May 2023). Developed in partnership with the Ontario Parasport Collective (OPC) and knowledge users in the disability sport community (i.e. athletes, volunteers, sport administrators). Contains 12 best practice recommendations for training and managing sport event volunteers, as well as supplementary documents and templates to help event organizers design and implement a successful and inclusive volunteer program.
• A Blueprint for Building Quality Participation on Playgrounds for Children with Disabilities, opens in a new tab, (May 2023). Presents 20 evidence-informed strategies designed to support meaningful, inclusive participation on playgrounds for children with disabilities.
• A Blueprint for Building Quality Participation in Sport for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder, opens in a new tab, (April 2023). Provides evidence-based strategies for building quality participation in recreation sport and physical activity programs for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder.
• Blueprint for Building Quality Participation in Sport for Children and Youth with Intellectual Disabilities, opens in a new tab, (November 2022). Provides evidence-based strategies for building quality participation in sport programs specifically for children and youth with intellectual disabilities.
• Canadian Physical Activity Report Card for Children & Adolescents with Disabilities, opens in a new tab, (November 2022). Canada's first-ever comprehensive summary of physical activity data for children and adolescents with disabilities. Presents several resources that highlight Canada’s grades and the grading process, as well as recommendations to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of physical activity experiences for children and adolescents with disabilities.
• Blueprint for Building Quality Participation in Sport for Children, Youth, and Adults with a Disability, opens in a new tab, Canadian Disability Participation Project, University of British Columbia, (version 1.1 January 2020). This Blueprint document has been created for program builders, including administrators, coaches, and policy makers. It introduces key concepts that underpin quality participation and provides tools for building quality participation. The Building Blocks of Quality Experience and Participation are Belonging, Autonomy, Mastery, Challenge, Engagement, and Meaning. These six building blocks, layered on top of a supportive foundation, lead to positive, enjoyable sport experiences. Repeated and sustained exposure to these quality experiences should contribute to lasting quality participation.
• Evidence-Based Strategies for Building Quality Participation in Sport for Children, Youth, and Adults with a Disability, opens in a new tab, Veronica Allan, Canadian Disability Participation Project, University of British Columbia, (March 2018). Report developed as a supplement to summarise the evidence supporting the 25 strategies outlined in the 'Blueprint for Building Quality Participation in Sport for Children, Youth and Adults with a Disability'.

National approaches to promote sports and physical activity in adults with disabilities: examples from the Netherlands and Canada, opens in a new tab, Femke Hoekstra, Lynn Roberts, Caroline van Lindert, et.al., Disability and Rehabilitation, Volume 41(10), pp.1217-1226, (2019). Both governments promote high performance sports in similar ways but use different strategies to promote recreational sports and physical activities. The Dutch approach is characterized by using time-limited programs focusing on enhancement of sports infrastructure and inter-sector collaboration in which municipalities have key roles. The Canadian government promotes recreational sports in disabled populations by supporting programs via bilateral agreements with provinces and territories. Furthermore, the level of integration of disability sports into mainstream sports differs between countries. The findings of this study may inspire policy makers from different countries to learn from one another’s policies in order to optimize national approaches to promote disability sports and PA on all levels.

Structure and Organization of Sport for People With Intellectual Disabilities Across Europe, opens in a new tab, Marin-Urquiza A; Burns J; et al., Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, Volume 41(1), pp.126-152, (2024). This study addressed the current knowledge on how sport for people with ID is organized and the relationships between the major sport organizations for people with ID across 10 European countries. The participants were 29 national sport organizations for people with ID. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with representatives from the key organizations and analyzed thematically.

Sport New Zealand (Ihi Aotearoa), opens in a new tab. Our Disability Plan guides our commitment to working in partnership, investing, and building system-wide capability to deliver better outcomes for disabled people.

• Disability Plan Progress Report: 2019-2024, opens in a new tab, (September 2024). This report shows actions we’ve taken to deliver on these commitments and enable positive change across the sector. It also includes the latest insights from several years of data about disabled people’s experiences in play, active recreation and sport, as well as the sector's confidence and capability in meeting their needs.
  • Disability Plan, opens in a new tab, (October 2019). Improving the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport.
  • Disability Review, opens in a new tab, Lumin for Sport NZ, (December 2018). This Summary Report and Recommendations were intended for the whole of the disability active recreation and sport, and disability sectors to adopt and implement. The recommendations are intended to guide the actions of Sport NZ as the lead agency.
  • Spotlight on Disability, opens in a new tab, Sport NZ, (December 2018). This spotlight report focused on understanding the impact of impairments on participation by highlighting the differences and similarities between disabled and non-disabled people’s participation. One of the key findings is overall, disabled people were less likely to participate weekly in play, active recreation or sport. The gap for young people occurs between ages 5 and 7. Weekly participation is matched between ages 8 and 24. From age 25-plus, disabled adults’ participation is lower than for non-disabled adults. Participation continues to decline with increasing age, in contrast with a relatively stable picture for non-disabled adults up until 75-plus.
• Inclusivity Hub: Disability (Hauātanga), opens in a new tab, (accessed 31 July 2025). Provides a range of resources including information on disability in Aotearoa; key contacts; ways to improve organisational policies, procedures, and strategies; inclusivity practices; and community stories and examples.
• Disability Sport in Community Clubs: 2023 National Sport Club Survey insights, opens in a new tab, (2023). The survey provides insights into how community sport clubs around the country are providing participation opportunities and being inclusive of disabled people. It’s great to see that sport clubs around New Zealand are making progress towards catering for disabled people, but more work is needed to ensure inclusion at all levels – from coaching and delivery to strategy and governance. The majority of clubs surveyed say they have barriers for disabled people to participate in their clubs that need addressing.

New research: Paralympic sport key to driving NZ’s inclusion of disabled people, opens in a new tab, Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ), (1 December 2023). The findings of a nationwide poll conducted by market research firm Ipsos show that 84% of New Zealander’s believe we should have a society that is truly inclusive of disabled people, yet half believe that we are achieving this desired level of inclusion.

An historical analysis of disability sport policy in Aotearoa New Zealand, opens in a new tab, Catriona McBean, Robert Townsend, Kirsten Petrie, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, Volume 14(3), pp.419-434, (2022). Drawing on archival data we outline the evolution of disability sport policy, highlighting key initiatives of government sport agencies from 1937 to the contemporary disability sport policy landscape. Evolving with the rise of the social model of disability, these policies are considered a necessary response to an historical invisibility of disabled people in sport. We highlight a landscape that is complicated by significant diffusion of power between government and ‘not-for-profit’ organisations responsible for the provision of sport for disabled people. Within this contested landscape and with the historical weight of policy, disabled people in NZ continue to report exclusion, marginalisation and lower levels of participation, suggesting a disconnect between policy and its enactment. We introduce the concept of ‘enlightened ableism’ to illustrate that while progressive ideals are embedded in disability policy, there are still challenges for achieving true inclusive practice. Furthermore, lessons learned from previous policy failures suggest that while the future of disability sport in NZ looks well placed to facilitate increased participation, it is worth questioning the extent to which ableism is structured into the fabric of disability sport.

Physical activity guidelines: disabled children and disabled young people, opens in a new tab, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and Department of Health and Social Care, (updated April 2022). Infographic explaining the physical activity needed for general health benefits for disabled children and disabled young people.

• Physical activity in disabled children and disabled young people: evidence review, opens in a new tab, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and Department of Health and Social Care, (updated April 2022).
• Physical activity guidelines for disabled children and disabled young people: methodology, opens in a new tab, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and Department of Health and Social Care, (updated April 2022).

Mapping Disability, opens in a new tab, Sport England, (2016). We know that almost one in five people in England have a long-standing limiting disability or illness, and that compared to other groups, disabled people are much less likely to take part in sport or physical activity. To better understand this population group, and to support people who work in the sport and activity sector to reach and engage disabled people, we’ve created a suite of resources – Mapping Disability.

• Mapping Disability - engaging disabled people the guide: a practical guide for organisers of grassroots community sport, opens in a new tab, (March 2016). This guide supports you to communicate and engage more effectively with audiences that include disabled people. It contains hints and suggestions on how you can motivate disabled people and how you can reassure them that their needs will be met.
• Mapping Disability - engaging disabled people: the research, opens in a new tab, (March 2016). The objectives of the project were: To understand the communication channels disabled people access, and which they trust, to establish which are most effective for communications encouraging physical activity or advertising specific clubs, sessions or facilities. To establish what information would be required from such communications to enable disabled people to decide if the opportunity is suitable for them, with their specific needs.
• Mapping Disability: the facts, opens in a new tab, (January 2016). This research breaks down individual impairments and reveals fascinating insights into disability, from regional variations to age and gender differences.

Scottish Disability Sport (SDS), opens in a new tab. Scottish Disability Sport (formerly known as the Scottish Sports Association for Disabled People) was formed in 1962 to encourage the development of sport and physical recreation for disabled people throughout Scotland. During its early years the organisation was a branch of the British Sports Association for the Disabled. SDS became a company limited by guarantee in 2003. SDS is Scotland‘s governing and coordinating body for sports that service persons with a physical, sensory or learning disability.

Activity Alliance: disability, inclusion, sport, opens in a new tab. The national charity and leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity. Previously known as the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS). Website provides a wide variety of programs, research and resources. Some key resources and reports include:

• A game of inequality: The reality of sporting dreams for young disabled people, opens in a new tab, Activity Alliance and Women in Sport, (April 2025). The Paralympics inspired two-thirds of young disabled people to want to be more active and try a new sport or activity, yet many face barriers like not knowing where to find opportunities, cost, and lack of support. This research report explores young people’s perceptions of the Paralympic Games and if young disabled people – especially girls – feel inspired, included, and supported in sport and physical activity.
• Research into the workforce gap: Disabled people in the sport and physical activity workforce, opens in a new tab, (January 2025). Activity Alliance commissioned Better Decisions Together to explore the barriers and enablers to disabled people becoming part of the workforce. The report found an urgent need for the sector to address recruitment and retention strategies.
• Social value of disabled people’s physical activity, opens in a new tab, Activity Alliance and State of Life, (December 2024). The aim of the study was to understand the impact of ‘more disabled people accessing the health and wellbeing benefits of sport and activity’. It found that the wellbeing benefit for disabled people meeting the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) weekly ‘active’ guideline (150+ minutes) is high; +0.406 in life satisfaction, a social value of £6,200 per person per year (PPPY).
• Activity Alliance Annual Disability and Activity Survey, opens in a new tab, (June 2024). Activity Alliance’s Annual Disability and Activity Survey report 2023-24 shows that in a year where focus will be on the nation’s top Paralympians’ incredible achievements, the reality is that disabled people still face significant barriers when trying to be active in their communities.
• Activity Alliance Annual Survey Impairment Report, opens in a new tab, (Sept 2024). Provides additional data analysis of the results from our 'Annual Disability and Activity Survey 2023-24' looking in detail at how different impairment types can impact disabled people’s perceptions and experiences of sport and activity.
• who says? campaign, opens in a new tab. Launched on 15 July 2019, the first phase of who says? gave positive evidence, resources and guidance to replace these negative ideas. The campaign films focused on six key perceptions from the charity's recent research. Each film provides upbeat insight from a mixture of disabled and non-disabled people.

PAWB, opens in a new tab. The Welsh word PAWB translates to ‘everyone’, which is the identity of our EDI Programme and represents our ambition to make ‘Football for Everyone, Everywhere in Wales’. The PAWB Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2021-26 sets out our Vision, Objectives and Actions to become a truly inclusive and representative governing body leading to visible change across the FAW and Welsh football.

Move United, opens in a new tab uses sports to push what's possible so everyone, regardless of ability, has equal access to sports and recreation in their community. Established in 1956, Move United is an Affiliate of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.