Cite as: Colombo-Dougovito, A. M. (2023, July). Misfitted bodies: Considerations for the Field. Round Table at the 2024 Annual Conference for the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID), Remote.
Abstract
Improving access and opportunities for disabled persons and their families has been foundational to professions that fall into the adapted physical activity domain. Via the construct of “inclusion”, scholars and practitioners have interrogated educational practices, societal norms, and collective expectations to reduce or limit barriers to physical activity as well as support disabled persons throughout the developmental process. Yet, many of the factors that scholars and practitioners claim to embattle are perpetuated pervasively within our methods, pedagogy, and lexicon. Engaging with the work of Drs. Karen DePauw (socially just kinesiology) and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson (feminist disability theory of misfitting) among others, attendees will be introduced to the pillars of a social justice and anti-ableist praxis. Within this session, attendees will be asked to critically consider our common language and assumptions of disability, sport, physical activity, and learning, as well as work collaboratively to develop individual or collective actions.
