ABSTRACT

Autistic individuals participate in significantly less sport than their typically developing peers. This study aimed to reduce barriers to participation by exploring the views of experienced coaches when suppporting autistic individuals to engage in sports. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with coaches of autistic young people from a range of sports. Data were transcribed and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Six key themes were identified: the coach-athlete relationship, understanding your autistic athlete, coaching strategies, behaviour support, benefits of participation, and coach education and context. The findings suggested that coaches utilised environmental, communication, and behavioural strategies to support participation. Recognising the diversity of this population the findings suggest a person-centred approach to coaching is required, understanding individuals needs and developing a trusting relationship with the athlete and their families. Coaches largely gained their knowledge through informal routes and the study identified a need for more autistic-focussedcoac education resources.

摘要

自闭症患者参加的体育活动比正常发育的同龄人要少得多。这项研究旨在通过探索经验丰富的教练在支持自闭症患者参与运动时的观点来减少参与障碍。对来自不同运动项目的自闭症年轻人的教练进行了十次半结构化访谈。使用反思性主题分析来转录和分析数据。确定了六个关键主题：教练与运动员的关系、了解自闭症运动员、教练策略、行为支持、参与的好处以及教练教育和背景。研究结果表明，教练利用环境、沟通和行为策略来支持参与。认识到这一人群的多样性，研究结果表明需要采取以人为本的教练方法，了解个人需求并与运动员及其家人建立信任关系。教练主要通过非正式途径获得知识，研究发现需要更多针对自闭症患者的coac教育资源。