Exploring the recreational opportunities for young people living with physical disabilities in Phalaborwa

Abstract

The design of recreational facilities, community hall and public space tend to focus on people without disabilities, which is unfair to those with physical disabilities. Recreational service providers face various issues and challenges in planning for people with disabilities, which makes it hard for them to provide recreational opportunities effectively. This study aimed to explore and describe recreational opportunities for young people with physical disabilities in Phalaborwa. Using the descriptive exploratory design, the study adopted a qualitative approach from an interpretive paradigm. Five recreational service providers were purposefully selected as key informants for this study. Twelve people with physical disabilities aged 18-35 years were purposefully chosen registered centers for people with disabilities to participate in interviews for the study. For this study, the focus was on young people with physical disabilities only without additional disabilities as that might require different needs. Participants were able to speak and comprehend information independently to avoid persuasion. A semi-structured interview schedule with open-ended were used to collect data face-to face with key informants and young people with physical disabilities