Relegated to the Sidelines: A Qualitative Inquiry of Gatekeepers' Perspectives and Values of Physical Education for Disabled Children.

Several institutional aspects within the U.S. public school system impede the delivery of adapted physical education (APE) services to disabled children, including a lack of understanding and prioritization of these services by the special education team and a lack of qualified APE professionals to deliver these services. Thus, we conducted a qualitative inquiry grounded in a critical-ableism perspective to explore special education gatekeepers' experiences and perspectives of APE. Gatekeepers included parents, physical educators, and school administrators. Using a reflexive thematic analysis, we developed four interrelated themes: (a) disregard, negative, and charity mindsets toward disability; (b) systemic challenges in valuing and prioritizing APE; (c) presence as inclusion: (un)intentional marginalization in physical education; and (d) physical education for my child was a nightmare. These findings illustrate the complexities around the provision of physical education and APE to disabled children.

Community-Based Recreational Therapy for Veterans with Behavioral Health Disorders: Impacts on Quality of Life, Participation, and Happiness.

Identifying evidenced-based interventions that improve health outcomes for Veterans with behavioral health disorders is a national priority. Thus, this study examined the outcomes of a community-based recreational therapy (RT) program focused on health promotion for Veterans with behavioral health disorders. Fifty-five Veterans with disabilities completed pretest and posttest questionnaires that assessed Quality of Life (QOL), Participation, and Happiness. Significant improvements were found in Overall QOL, Environmental QOL, Psychological QOL, QOL Rated, Satisfaction with Health, Participation, and Happiness. Younger age and female gender were significantly associated with improved Overall QOL. Factors significantly associated with improved Environmental QOL included younger age and non-Caucasian race. Older age was significantly associated with improved Participation. Female gender was positively associated with improved Happiness, while being divorced/separated was negatively associated with Happiness. These results have important implications for the use and expansion of community-based RT health promotion programs for Veterans with behavioral health disorders.