Samenvatting

The Netherlands strives for an inclusive society. In order to achieve this, the United Nations Convention
on Disability has been ratified. In this convention sport is explicitly named as a means towards
inclusion. Still, it is not yet clear what the role of sport is in this. Extensive research has been done on
inclusion in the fields of education and labor, in which sport remains behind. In the studies that have
been done, sport show both positive and negative features concerning inclusion. Nevertheless, policy
makers are optimistic about the possibilities of sports and it is already being used in different ways.
There have been several interventions and investments made by the government. With a decreasing
initiative nationwide and by sports federations to give space for locally organized initiatives. In order
to achieve inclusive society, there must be interaction between macro‐ (government), meso‐ (sports
club) and micro level (athletes). This research takes the micro‐level as a starting point to make a
bottom‐up contribution. The experienced accessibility (de Visscher 2011) divided into availability,
attainability, affordability, usability and comprehensibility is being investigated. To make the inclusion
measurable, the perceived group inclusion scale of Jansen, Otten, Zee & Jans (2014) is used. The
research group is restricted to athletes with mental disabilities. This study, on the one hand, classifies
the experience of inclusion, and is also an opportunity to empower this minority group. Results were
obtained through focus group interviews in four different categories. Youth with a psychosocial
disability, playing sports in the regular and adapted teams of the sports club. And youth with a mental
disability, playing sports in the regular and adapted teams. To explore the experienced inclusion of
youth with mental disabilities in their sports club these questions will be central:
 to what extent is authenticity experienced;
 to what extent is belonging experienced;
 how is accessibility experienced;
 what are differences and similarities regarding inclusion between regular and adapted sports;
 what are differences and similarities regarding inclusion between a mental and psychosocial
disability;
 what contributes to inclusion?
The main conclusion is that the experienced inclusion differs greatly between respondents. Within the
authenticity, belonging and accessibility, there are clear differences between athletes from the
adjusted teams and athletes from the regular teams. The athlete’s performance or the level at which
the athlete performs plays an important role. It is also made clear that, and in which way, a trainer,
the team and the association can contribute to the inclusion process.
The last part of this research relates to the limitations, that are specifically focused on the chosen
research method and its consequences for the results and suggests interesting avenues for further
research.