Volume 65 (2015): Issue 1 (March 2015)

Words and concepts may change in time, and this has certainly been the case with the term handicap. From the establishment of modern sports in the middle of the 19th century and up until the middle of the 20th century, handicap had an entirely different meaning within sports. Thus, handicap was understood as a disadvantage imposed on talented contestants to make the competition more equal in sports. Later the term handicap became much closer related to the concepts invalid and crippled than to concept originally employed within sports, With the gradual introduction of the welfare state measures to the political agenda the politicians in Denmark also started to take an interest in invalids and cripples and in 1925 the National Association of the Crippled and Maimed was founded. By the end of the 20 century the term crippled was seen by many as outdated and in 1988 the name was changed to the Danish Association for the Disabled (Dansk Handicap Forbund) and already in 1971 this organization helped to found The Danish Disabled Sports Association (Dansk Handicap Idræts-Forbund). The article tells the story of how the concept of handicap, which originally was an aim to provide equal opportunities, today has become a synonym for disability, while in the Paralympics and competitive disability sports, the original sports term handicap has been replaced by classification.

Disability has become an increasingly important field of investment for modern welfare policy-visible in architecture for wheelchair users as well as in budgets for health care. This documents a gain in solidarity, but it implies also some challenges of practical and philosophical character. Play and games (of, for, and with disabled people) make these challenges bodily. These challenges will here be explored in three steps.

In the first step, we discover the paradoxes of equality and categorization, normalization and deviance in the understanding of disability. Ableism, a negative view on disability, is just around the corner. The Paralympic sports for disabled people make this visible. However, play with disabled people shows alternative ways. And it calls to our attention how little we know, so far, about how disabled people play.

The second step leads to an existential phenomenology of disablement. Sport and play make visible to what degree the building of “handicap” is a cultural achievement. All human beings are born disabled and finally die disabled-and inbetween they create hindrances to make life dis-eased. Dis-ease is a human condition.

However, and this is an important third step, disablement and dis-eased life are not just one, but highly differentiated. These differences are relevant for political practice and have to be recognized. Attention to differences opens up a differential phenomenology of disablement and of disabled people in play-as a basis for politics of recognition.

The older population is a greatly increasing group, and municipalities meet more and more demands regarding the health of elderly people. Ageing results in a loss of mobility and reduced independence, but there are different measures and practices possible that may contribute to maintain independence. By being active, elderly people can prevent disease, reduce disability, and increase wellness. Among these measures, research has discovered that older adults can benefit from contact with nature. This case study presents an old man in a wheelchair and his way of living an independent life despite being physically disabled. Harald is 88 years old and lives in the suburb of Ålesund, a town in Norway. Eight years ago, he had his left leg amputated due to cancer and experienced a long and tough recovery process. Harald‟s way back to restoring his mobility was highly enhanced by the outdoors and natural surroundings, which helped him to restore his independence. His experience, together with other theoretical findings, calls to our attention that nature is a resource on both the mental and the physical level. People who have access to nearby natural settings are healthier overall than other people. Natural surroundings lead one away from daily life and help one to forget about stress and worry. Natural surroundings make one more relaxed and offer a lot of time to reflect on life.

Social work strategy is increasingly applying sports and physical activity programs as a vehicle for the social inclusion of outsiders. The underlying assumption is that interactions between diverse social groups generate social capital, which can potentially function as a social lever for socially disadvantaged groups. Knowledge about how and when this levering process occurs is, however, insufficient. The generation and acquisition of social capital requires adequate qualities in the relationship between social entities. Hence, meticulous research is essential to expound on the mechanisms and circumstances under which the socially disadvantaged can benefit from social capital generated through sports and physical activity. The article is primarily based on qualitative interviews with different groups of socially disadvantaged people. The interviews were conducted as part of a large-scale investigation of participation in sports in socially deprived neighborhoods. Subsequently, the findings from the qualitative interviews were triangulated with findings from an assessment of documentation and evaluation reports covering about 200 projects, and findings from a scientific literature review. The findings suggest that strategies aiming at social inclusion through sports and physical activities need to take social context into consideration

There is a growing understanding that psychiatric treatment is more than psychotherapy and medication, and that people themselves can be active in preventing and handling mental health problems. This brings non-medical solutions into play. Physical activity (in terms of exercise, sport, and fitness) becomes an important contribution in this particular context. The perceived mental and physical benefits of physical activity (both preventative and therapeutic) for people experiencing mental health problems are well documented. Typically, this kind of research focuses narrowly on “size of effect” or “most successful type of intervention” or “exercise versus other treatment.” Less research has explored the lived experience of physical activity and the meaning and relevance it has for individuals in their everyday lives. This article suggests that sport and exercise can play a valuable role in and contribute to the recovery process for young people with mental health problems. Results from an evaluation study of a developmental project in Denmark shows how physical activity affects a person‟s lived experiences, relationships, and pursuits. The findings is discussed in relation to the concept of recovery, especially focusing on exercise as a form of self-care strategy, as an opportunity to create social relationships, and as a way to become part of a meaningful social activity.

Studies indicate that physical activity has a positive effect both physiologically and socially for psychologically ill and vulnerable people, and that this effect is the same or greater for psychologically well-functioning people. In spite of this, treatment sites often hesitate to include sports and physical activity as part of the treatment offered. This article argues that there is a strong correlation between the body and mind, but from a different point of view than that adopted by the prevalent scientific research in the field. Specifically, I elucidate how the mind-body relationship and self-consciousness are influenced by physical activity for people with schizophrenia, and argue that symptoms are relieved as a result of physical activity. Consciousness has a bodily component that, for people with schizophrenia, is less well-integrated in the consciousness than for psychologically well-functioning people, and sports and physical activity can help facilitate this integration. My argument is based partly on phenomenological concepts and partly on an empirical research project concerning physical activity for people with schizophrenia. The conclusion is that their level of functioning and self-assessed quality of life increased markedly through physical activity. The purpose of the present article is thus partly to qualify the treatment chosen for people with schizophrenia, and partly to qualify the theoretical discussion concerning the role played by the body and physical activity in connection with consciousness and relief.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and learning difficulties are difficult to separate in clinic manifestations and diagnoses. By taking learning as being-in-the-world, this article considers the embodied nature of autistic learning and urges its importance for understanding the phenomenological core of ASD. We begin by arguing that three mainstream contemporary ASD theories are inherently limited in offering an adequate account of autistic learning due to the disembodied ontology inscribed within them. Then, we provide an understanding of learning guided by the subjective dynamics of experience. Instead of having a disembodied and individualistic point of view, we suggest that autistic learning has an embodied nature. The “inappropriate” or “abnormal” affections and behaviors in the autistic experience of learning may actually be inherently meaningful for individuals with ASD. They strive to make sense of some basic disturbances and re-establish some form of coherence with the world, though this may only be possible in the form of delusions or autistic withdrawals. Finally, we explore the relationship between autistic learning and physical education and suggest in particular how spontaneous imitation can boost the development of children with ASD. We conclude that the application of implicit learning strategies in playful settings and the reduction of explicit strategies based upon intellectual reasoning rather than bodily reciprocity should be encouraged in the process of autistic learning.

Sport for All is a universal Olympic idea adopted by supranational institutions such as the Council of Europe, UNESCO, and the UN. Measures that need to be taken to ensure that all people have an equal opportunity to be included in sport are analyzed and discussed based upon a survey of sports and exercise participation in Denmark with a special focus upon people with impairments. The prevailing point of view is a special needs approach to sports participation, whether it is oriented towards separate or integrated forms of organization. It is often unclear whether this approach is aiming for equality of outcome, equality of chance or just a minimum threshold for sports and exercise activity. However, if we adopt a universal approach to Sport for all, then the focus is not on differences among people, but upon the commonalities among human beings in light of their diversity. This approach is associated with the understanding of “universal design” in the UN‟s Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the WHO‟s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. In conclusion, it is highlighted that a more inclusive Sport for All movement is preferable to a segregated or integrated disability sport, provided the persons concerned have a say in every case.