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The participants in the Study
The study included 24 autistic adolescents (17 boys and 7 girls) aged 12 to 16 years old and attending grades 6 to 9 in Sweden. All students followed the Swedish mainstream compulsory school curriculum; however, 13 adolescents received mainstream classroom education, while 11 received an adapted form of schooling (e.g., small group education or home education). The various types of education allow for a broader understanding of how different contexts may impact an individual’s perceptions or overall experiences.
Subthemes (‘Five’)
Following the interview, the researchers were able to draw connections between what each person said and five different subthemes:
Competence and self-assurance
Competence and Confidence:
These two concepts deal with an individual’s level of self-assurance in their capacity to perform a given task and their level of success in doing so. Both are typically skill- and activity-specific, so a person’s aptitudes and emotions for one activity might not transfer to another (e.g., good at kicking but not throwing). To give you further context, here are a few quotes from different interviews.
“I’ve picked up the sport so damn easily, and I’ve kind of picked it up pretty quickly” (Boy, 1)
“It’s difficult when I don’t get the necessary flow, and even when I plan it, it doesn’t work out correctly” (Boy, 20).
“There was an unbearably high level of anxiety associated with PE…PE alone has the power to ruin an entire day.If PE was supposed to be held that day, I almost didn’t want to go to school (Girl, 15).
In conclusion, people are more likely to participate in physical activity if they exhibit high levels of confidence and skill competency. On the other hand, people who lack competence and confidence will typically steer clear of physical activity.
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