European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 16, 15 (2023) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2023.007

Disability and physical activity perspectives of Hmong mothers who have a child with a disability

Jenifer Yang, Josephine A. Blagrave
Calfornia State University of Chico, 400 W 1st St, Chico, CA 95929

Even though Hmong people have a unique history and culture, they are often overlooked and lumped together with other Asian American groups within the United States. Their experiences are rarely examined in depth, particularly when it comes to Hmong families with children who have disabilities. As the number of disabilities among racial and ethnic groups has grown, the services available to and research conducted about a few of those communities, such as the Hmong people, have been insufficient. Traditionally, Hmong people are active with their daily routines such as hunting and farming. Purposeful physical activity like joining a recreational sport team or dedicating a day to go on a walk, is a novel concept for most Hmong individuals. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to understand how Hmong parents perceive their experiences of having a child with a disability and their experiences with physical activity (PA). A total of 10 Hmong mothers were recruited in this study. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were used to explore these experiences and two themes emerged: 1) Disability: not taboo but… and 2) Physical Activity: important but… Hmong mothers have positive perspectives of their child with disability but it is often overshadowed by cultural views. Hmong parents view physical activity as an important concept but struggle to find ways to engage in it with their child with disability. These themes and future programming strategies for Hmong families are discussed.

Keywords: disability; children; family perspectives; Asian Americans; physical activity

Received: April 11, 2022; Revised: May 17, 2023; Accepted: July 4, 2023; Published online: August 3, 2024  Show citation

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Yang, J., & Blagrave, J.A. (2023). Disability and physical activity perspectives of Hmong mothers who have a child with a disability. European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity, 16, Article 15. https://doi.org/10.5507/euj.2023.007
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