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Young Wheelchair Users Play and Recreation

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Play and Recreation, Health and Wellbeing

Part of the book series: Geographies of Children and Young People ((GCYP,volume 9))

Abstract

Despite a rapid increase in research into children and young people’s lives, the experiences of disabled children – and in particular disabled young people – still remain largely overlooked. This chapter offers some reflections on the leisure experiences of young wheelchair users (13–17 years) in their homes and across a range of public spaces. The data that are presented were collected during a multi-method UK-based project which was designed to capture their use of different spaces away from the school environment. The teenagers and their parents discussed the physical and social barriers inherent in these places which impeded on their access to leisure. Their contributions signal the importance of situating the leisure experiences of young people in the context of families. The complex relationships and negotiations between parents and teenagers in accessing leisure are explored, signaling the ways that they work together, or at times in opposition, to open up or close down leisure opportunities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Health and Wellbeing, The University of Northampton, Boughton Green Road, Northampton, NN2 7AL, UK

    Michelle Pyer

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  1. Michelle Pyer
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Correspondence to Michelle Pyer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom

    Bethan Evans

  2. Centre of Children and Youth, The University of Northampton, Northampton, United Kingdom

    John Horton

  3. Department of Geography, National University of Singapore Department of Geography, Singapore, Singapore

    Tracey Skelton

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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Pyer, M. (2016). Young Wheelchair Users Play and Recreation. In: Evans, B., Horton, J., Skelton, T. (eds) Play and Recreation, Health and Wellbeing. Geographies of Children and Young People, vol 9. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-51-4_10

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