Adaptive Sports as Extraordinary Experiences Findings from a Pilot Study

A growing emphasis on experiences and their impacts on participants is occurring among recreation scholars. The Experience Impact Scale (EIS) was developed based on the Experience Type Framework (ETF) to better measure the impact of recreation experiences. This study aimed to understand the experience of involvement in adaptive sports (AS) using the ETF and to identify elements of AS programs that facilitate extraordinary experiences. The study sample (n=140) consisted of individuals who had participated in AS programs for some period in their lifetime. Findings revealed AS experiences to be extraordinary and offer a list of 42 program characteristics that may facilitate these experiences. Ordinal logistic regression revealed three program characteristics and one demographic item that most predicted experience impact. Recommendations for recreational therapy practice and future research are discussed.