Deficiência e prática esportiva: um estudo sobre o esporte adaptado e sua influência na autoestima de pessoas com deficiência adquirida

Abstract

People with disabilities have some type of physical, mental, intellectual or sensory limitation, in interaction with social barriers that may hinder their full and effective participation in society with other people1 . A disability may have a congenital or acquired origin. When acquired, the individual may face a period of low self-esteem due to losing a limb or some body function. Due to the sudden change in the life of those who acquire a disability, the practice of adapted sports can be an excellentally in helping the person resignify his vision about himself, recognizing his limitations and abilities. This research aimed to analyze the influence of adaptedsports on the self-esteem of people who acquired disabilities. The research is qualitative, and content analysis was chosen to analyze the interviews, according to Bardin, Laurence(2009)2 .To recruit the research participants, a sample methodological technique known as ''snowball sampling'' was used, which consists of each interviewee indicating new participants for the research, forminga chain of indications3. However, as the names mentioned began to repeat themselves, it was necessary to search through social networks to invite more people to the research. As a result, ten interviewees participated in the study, 08 men and 02 women. The inclusion criteria were to participate in the research of free will, to be a practitioner of an adapted sport, and to have acquired a disabilityafter childhood. The research results showed that before the disability, most participants considered their self-esteem to be high. However, already in the phase after acquiring a disability, most interviewees showed a time of low self- esteem due to the sudden change in the decrease in independence. However, afterstarting the practice of adapted sports, the interviewees reported that this positively influenced their self-esteem because sports brought numerous benefits,such as socialization, mental and physical health, improvement of physicalabilities, trunk control, aesthetics, opportunities to travel more, to meet new people, and social recognition, in addition to the possibility of thinking about thesport as a profession. Thus, it is perceived the importance of the practice of adapted sports by people who have acquired disabilities, so it is necessary for even broader dissemination by the media, as well as more significant governmentinvestments in public policies that support and encourage the practice of adaptedsports by people who suddenly became people with disabilities so that they can also know and enjoy its numerous benefits.