Disentangling assistive technology: exploring the experiences of athletes with physical impairments in disability sport

ABSTRACT

The use of assistive technology (AT) in sport raises critical questions about disability, access, equity, and embodiment in culture and society. In this paper, we seek to provide some clarity on the various ways that disabled people use, interact with, and experience AT through engagement in disability sport. Using semi-structured interviews, this paper centralises the experiences of twelve athletes with different physical impairments as they use AT for sports participation. We highlight a diverse range of experiences, illustrating how ATs function to provide athletes with a sense of embodied freedom and (im)possibilities, as well as exploring the influence of AT on athletes’ construction of self and other. Finally, we provide some insight into the dimensions of access that are required to fully utilise AT in sport, specifically focusing on the process of learning to use and respond to AT. We envisage this paper may inform disability and AT scholars, advocates, and sports sociologists as they build on and extend empirical work and advocacy at the intersection of AT, disability, and sport.

KEYWORDS:

• Assistive technology
• athletes’ experiences
• disability sport
• athletes with physical impairment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Throughout this paper the term ‘disabled people’ is used to reflect the contemporary social model position of disability and also to highlight New Zealand’s cultural and policy position on disability (see McBean, Townsend and Petrie, 2022).

2. Rotorua is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand famous for its mountain biking trails.

3. In Boccia, ‘ramp players’ use a ramp to propel the balls to their desired target.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Francis Asare

Francis Asare is a PhD candidate at the Te Huataki Waiora School Health at the University of Waikato. His research interests focus on using qualitative methodologies to research issues in disability sports, the use of assistive technology for disabled people, paralympic culture, and sports ethics. He is currently working on disabled athletes’ embodied experiences of assistive technology (AT) in disability sports.

Robert C. Townsend

Robert C. Townsend, Prior to joining Te Huataki Waiora School of Health at the University of Waikato, Robert completed his PhD at Loughborough University researching coaching in disability sports. Robert currently researching coaching across the disability sport pathway from the community through to elite and Paralympic sport. Robert is interested in working closely with disability sports organisations to support Para coach development and inclusion.

Lisette Burrows

Lisette Burrows is a Professor in Community Health with the Te Huataki Waiora School of Health at the University of Waikato. Lisette’s research draws on post structural theoretical tools and insights from the sociology of education, sociology of youth, curriculum studies, and cultural studies to explore the place and meaning of physical culture and health in young people’s lives. She has published work on gender, ethnicity, and disability in school-based physical education.