Sensory methodologies and disabled sporting embodiment: implications for research and practice in physical education

In this paper, we centre the senses and sensory methodologies in researching disabled sporting embodiment and make suggestions for how such approaches can inform research and practice in physical education (PE). Firstly, we conceptualise sensory research and illustrate its value in revealing the embodied experiences of disabled bodies in sport and PE. Specifically, we advocate the use of sensory research in: (i) developing multifaceted, complex, embodied and messy understandings of disabled bodies; (ii) challenging the normativity of sensory experience; (iii) exposing the felt, enfleshed feelings of ableism; and (iv) acknowledging the emplaced experiences of disability. Drawing on our own experiences of undertaking sensory research in disability sport, we demonstrate the usefulness of this approach in action by providing three vignettes exploring the embodied experiences of physically (spinal cord injury) and sensorially (visual impairment) impaired people and of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in sport. We conclude by making suggestions for developing sensory research practices when exploring the embodied experiences of disabled pupils in PE and how sensory understandings can enhance embodied practices in PE.