Just a year after the thrill of the Olympics and Paralympics, it was depressing to read that despite the inspiration of London 2012, many young people still aren't participating in sport, and engaging disabled young people in mainstream sports programmes remains a major challenge (Children fail to reach activity goals, CYP Now, 3 September).
While changing attitudes may be one thing, designing and delivering sports programmes that are genuinely inclusive is far easier said than done. But this is no excuse.
London Youth has run a successful sports development programme since 2009, engaging 6,500 young people, many of whom were previously inactive. Yet only five per cent said they have a disability. We must ensure young people with disabilities have the chance to "design themselves in" to programmes at the earliest stage. Where this is done well, such as at London Youth member Ab-Phab in Barking, it can be transformative.
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