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Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder impacting physical, cognitive, emotional, and sensory functions. Dance is a form of physical activity that can offer social, psychological, and physical benefits and enhance quality of life for individuals with Parkinson’s. This study explored program facilitators’ perceptions and experiences facilitating a community dance class for individuals with Parkinson’s through the lens of physical literacy. Six program facilitators (four instructors, one volunteer, and one musical accompanist) of a weekly community dance class participated in semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, generating three themes: (a) Dance as tuning into one’s self: Enriching the body, mind, and spirit; (b) Everybody can dance: Feeling successful and fostering confidence; and (c) Looking forward to Tuesdays: Promoting connection, belonging, and community. This study provides insight into the teaching practices, as well as the design and facilitation of community dance classes for individuals with Parkinson’s.

Although research has shown the benefit of physical activity (PA) on executive functions (EFs) in typically developing populations, the efficacy of such interventions among individuals with Down syndrome (DS) is less understood. Therefore, the aim of the review was to systematically examine the empirical literature on the influence of PA interventions on EF in individuals with DS. The search strategy identified 10 eligible articles, which were systematically reviewed following PRISMA guidelines. Relevant data (i.e., study characteristics and major findings) were charted, and risk of bias was assessed. Study findings indicate some positive effects of PA on the EF of individuals with DS, namely, inhibition and cognitive shifting. However, risk-of-bias assessment uncovered critical methodological issues that make results difficult to interpret. Taken together, results suggest that while PA interventions may be beneficial, more high-quality intervention studies are needed to further elucidate the potential impact on the EF of individuals with DS.

Physical education (PE) has failed to meet the inclusive ideals of equity and participation for all students. Questions on the role of PE in the schools and its official knowledge, curriculum, and values are critical concerns given the exclusion experienced by disabled students. In this viewpoint, we propose a critical reflection on school PE and the role of ableism constraining the engagement of disabled students in PE and sports. Our discussion is grounded in a critical disability-studies framework and takes two major points into account: (a) the legitimate knowledge within PE and (b) its underlying ability system. The pursuit of equitable education for disabled students demands consideration not only of meaningful pedagogical practices but, above all, of meaningful knowledge provision. Such changes mandate the recognition and affirmation of disabled identity and their individual and collective expression through PE and sports.

Regular participation in physical activity (PA) has been linked to improved health and well-being outcomes. People with disability, however, are faced with many barriers and often require support to participate. This scoping review aimed to understand how the support needs of people with disability wanting to participate in PA are assessed. A scoping review was conducted as per the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) extension for Scoping Reviews, which involved the review of four databases. A total of 35 papers met the inclusion criteria for this review, which identified 11 standardized assessment tools. All tools measured support needs within a general health and participation assessment and included items relevant to PA. No tools were found specific to PA participation. This review suggests that a PA-specific assessment tool would be valuable in measuring the support needs of people with disability with a focus on participation-based outcomes.

Few studies have applied sport development models depicting Para athlete career development. This study utilizes the Athletic Career Pathways in Paralympic Sports framework, developed to respond to the limitations of established sport development models when applied to Para sport. Employing a mixed-methods design informed by critical realism, this study explores the career trajectories of Para track-and-field athletes while assessing the framework’s broader applicability. The findings challenge the linear pathway of traditional models, and a revised framework is presented offering flexibility to respond to the Para sport-specific and cultural context. The importance of schooling type, accessibility to nondisabled sports, and the need for specialist equipment in Para track and field offer further original insights into a Para athlete’s trajectory and validates the need for a Para sport-specific athlete career development model. These findings can be used to develop bespoke systems to support Para track-and-field athletes throughout their career trajectory.

Classification in para sports aims to create equitable competition. Footballers with vision impairments are allocated to one of three classes (B1, B2, or B3). This work aimed to understand the effectiveness and inclusivity of the current classification system. Visual acuity (VA) and/or visual field of male and female international footballers was extracted anonymously via the International Blind Sports Federation classification database. The analysis included 562 individuals. Footballers were predominantly male (88.26%); 11.74% were female. Only VA was used to classify 99.11% of footballers, and only 4.50% had visual field included in their classification. VA was nonnormally distributed for all three classes. Only 2.84% of footballers had a VA between 2.10 and 2.60 logMAR, suggesting that VAs in this range and/or visual-field impairment may disproportionately impact performance compared with other footballers within their classes. The current classification system does not appear to be inclusive or create equitable competition.

This systematic review synthesizes quantitative evidence on school factors associated with physical activity (PA) participation in children and adolescents with disabilities (CAD). A comprehensive search was conducted in four databases, and studies were included if they quantitatively measured PA levels and examined school factors associated with PA participation among CAD. Methodological quality was assessed, and a semiquantitative synthesis was performed. Twenty-four studies with good to excellent methodological quality were included. Five primary and 21 secondary school factors linked to PA engagement in CAD were identified: school time structure, school PA characteristics, school physical environment, school social environment, and school organizational factors. Among these, four factors of the school time structure (i.e., physical education time, recess time, lunch time, and before- and/or after-school time) showed the most consistent positive associations with PA. This review highlights the critical role of structured school time for school-based PA promotion in CAD.

Purpose: Gait is a complex task that requires the interaction between motor and cognitive demand, being usually assessed using the dual-task (DT) paradigm. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of 21 weeks of application of multicomponent DT training on the spatiotemporal gait parameters, coefficients of variation, and DT cost in people with intellectual disability. Methods: A controlled longitudinal pre–post design with random assignment to two groups (experimental and control) was used. Fifty-seven participants with intellectual disability joined in this study (age: 39 ± 9 years). The OptoGait system was used to register spatiotemporal gait parameters in two different conditions: single task and DT. Results: The main findings revealed that in both conditions, the multicomponent DT training significantly reduced the coefficients of variation of spatiotemporal gait parameters (p < .001), whereas there was no effect on DT cost. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the multicomponent DT training elicited a more stable and confident gait pattern.