Fear of mistakes: Physical education and activity experiences of autistic teenagers

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 included how teachers, family members, and peers impacted their experiences; and (b) environmental influences, which included physical or instructional factors related to participant engagement. The results from this study articulate the experiences of the participants with stakeholders and the authors suggest programming modifications to improve the overall physical education and physical activity experiences of individuals on the autism spectrum.