Chapter 4: Strategies to Increase Social Inclusion of Students With Disabilities in Physical Education Settings

In the United States as well as in other countries, many students and individuals with disabilities are included in general education settings including school physical education and sports programs (Fitzgerald, 2006; Hodge et al., 2009). Internationally, inclusion has increasingly been seen as a way to support and welcome all individuals and to eliminate social exclusion of people regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or ability level (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 2005). The term inclusion traditionally has been used to discuss different options for placing individuals with disabilities (e.g., cerebral palsy, visual impairments, autism) into settings with individuals who do not have disabilities as long as the needs of each person can still be met successfully (Block, 2016).