VITENSKAPELIG ARTIKKEL 12 FYSIOTERAPEUTEN 5/25 in (15). Our body appears to our consciousness when it becomes strange to us. The body can become strange when movement has an aspect of novelty, such as the learning of new skills. Attention is brought to the capabilities of the tactile-kinetic body when the body in movement is discovered achieving something new, creating an experience of «I can» (13). The body may inversely become strange when it does not move or act as expected. When in pain or not performing as desired, a dysfunctional body appears to consciousness, the body dys-appears. In dys-appearing, our body appears as an object, vulnerable to the gaze and scrutiny of ourselves and others (15). Method A qualitative design, using observation and individual interviews to generate data has been applied. Recruiting and inclusion Youth aged 11 to 18 who had attended VHC from spring to fall 2023 were invited to participate in individual interviews. Youth were assessed for eligibility by staff at VHC based on age, interest, having a physical disability and ability to participate in an interview. Eight potential participants were contacted by the first author with three (two boys and a girl, all aged 11) agreeing to participate. All participants were living in larger municipalities in Northern Norway and had attended VHC multiple times previously. Their diagnoses included cerebral palsy and congenital heart defect. Data collection and analysis The first author visited VHC in spring 2023 and observed two youth groups during activity sessions, writing observation notes after activities. Two interview participants were recruited at this time. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted in fall 2023, one to three months after participants returned home from VHC. Interviews were conducted in Norwegian over zoom to facilitate access to a rural population in Northern Norway. The first author conducted interviews following an interview guide including themes: «Activity at VHC», «Returning Home from VHC», and «Physical Activity Experiences after VHC». Audio recordings were taken and transcribed in Norwegian. Analysis took inspiration from phenomenological thematic analysis (12), using both interview transcriptions and observation notes to identify essential themes and aspects of the youth’s experiences. In a dynamic process, the texts were re-read multiple times as new interpretations were made to gain deeper understanding and reflect on own interpretations. In this process reflective writing has been used (12) to uncover possible meanings of what the youth are telling. Excerpts from interviews that highlight the main themes and experiences were translated to English and form the basis for our presentation of findings. Ethics The study was considered not requiring assessment by the Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research (Application ID 616505). Guidelines from Norwegian National Research Ethics Committee were followed and the storage and collection of data was approved by the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research (reference number 416558). During observation at VHC youth and parents were informed of the role of the researcher, and youth were given the opportunity to moderate their contact during activities. Many expressed their interest in the project and actively included the researcher in activities, while some kept their distance. Prior to participation in interviews youth and parents were given consent forms and the youth were reminded of their opportunity to withdraw consent or stop interview. Ethical considerations were made during all stages of the process following recommendations from Kvale & Brinkman (16) with consideration to the youths’ position as a vulnerable group. Participants seemed comfortable during interviews often having a parent or pet nearby, after the interviews youth commented they found the experience to be positive. Findings The presentation of findings is organized in two main themes. Selected excerpts from the empirical material are written in cursive, followed by our analyses in plain text. Participants are presented with fictive names. It’s nice to be different together The youth described how they experienced being physically active with peers at VHC and peers at home. Zelda said: At Valnesfjord I saw the others would get tired. I couldn’t see when I got tired, but I could hear it, my heart would race. We don’t all have the same diagnosis at Valnesfjord, so we like to do different things in different ways. But it’s good to have differences, it would be boring if everything was the same. It’s more fun to do activities at Valnesfjord than at home. Zelda noticed that her peers at VHC had different ways of participating in activities which she related to them having different medical diagnosis. Additionally, she experienced that she was not the only one to become tired when exercising, leading to her reflecting on her own body in activity. She emphasizes that at VHC differing participation is not only a necessity, but that doing things your own way is accepted and valued. Experiencing this environment where all are participating differently is part of why activity in this setting is more fun for her, giving the impression that this is a novel experience. Leo and Jacob describe their experiences in activities at home. Leo says: Gym class is hard sometimes, sometimes things are easier, but most of it is difficult for me. The others comment on how I do things and say it’s my fault. They get angry at me and then I get angry at them. That doesn’t happen at Valnesfjord. Jacob reflected on his experiences: I like to swim and play with friends. But lately I don’t really want to do that as often, it’s tiring and takes a toll on me. The others don’t get tired like I do. They get angry with me when I don’t want to play anymore, so I try my best
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