ABSTRACT
Athletes with physical and sensory disabilities (PSDs) face challenges in sport that are similar to those experienced by athletes without PSDs. However, those sport-specific challenges may be exacerbated for athletes with PSD who, typically, are already coping with disability-related challenges. This chapter presents recent research about psychological factors that are unique to the disability sport context so that applications of sport psychology can take these factors into account. It discusses two factors pertaining to most athletes with PSDs: the ramifications of traumatic events that results in disabilities, and dignity. One set of negative coaching behaviors was specific to settings in which athletes with PSD trained alongside athletes without disabilities or athletes with less-severe impairments. Sport psychology consultants may benefit from an awareness of goals that are unique to living with disability. Sport psychology consultants may benefit from an awareness of stressors unique to athletes with PSD.
