Lived Experiences of Individuals With Cerebral Palsy in “Inclusive” Physical Education

This study sought to examine the lived experiences and subjective feelings of inclusion (i.e., feelings of belonging, acceptance, and value) among individuals with cerebral palsy in general physical education (PE) settings. Multimodal interviews were conducted to gather insights from speaking and nonspeaking participants. Three themes were constructed: (a) "A lot of the time I was left to figure out how to adapt things for myself": finding a role in PE; (b) "I float in between both worlds": ability and acceptance in PE; and (c) "If I had solely relied on K-12 experiences, I probably wouldn't be very active today": lost opportunities for physical literacy. Findings highlight the physical, mobility, and interpersonal negotiations that individuals with cerebral palsy undertake to participate meaningfully in PE and lifelong physical activity. Finally, the use of multimodal interviews resulted in a greater variety of participants and richer experiential accounts that may have been excluded by a traditional interview format.