Keynote speakers
Natalia Morgulec-Adamowicz
Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education, Faculty of Rehabilitation
Title:
How Universal Design for Learning may shape inclusive physical education: pathways, practices, and possibilities
Kristina Fagher
Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Title:
Preliminary title of your presentation (can be specified later)
Jeffrey Martin
Division of Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies, College of Education, Wayne State Univesity
Title:
Psychosocial Aspects of Disability Sport and Exercise
Yves Vanlandewijck
Department of Physiology, Nutrition and Biomechanics, Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (GIH) – Stockholm, Sweden
Title:
Paralympic Classification – Eligibility, the border of disqualification
Martin Vetter
University of Education Ludwigsburg
Title:
Psychomotricity as a resource in challenging times
Jeffrey J. Martin
Website:
https://education.wayne.edu/profile/aa3975
Jeffrey J. Martin is a Professor at Wayne State University. He has published over 250 research articles and chapters as well as the Handbook of Disability Sport and Exercise Psychology published by Oxford University Press. His research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of disability sport and physical activity with populations ranging from Paralympians to Wounded Warriors. His Google Scholar profile reflects 12,658 citations, a h-index of 65, and i10-index of 154 and he was recently recognized as one of the top 153 exercise and sport psychology scholars in the world (Smolinski et al., 2024).
Based on the C-index for citations, in 2023-2024, he was 290 out of 722 scientists estimated to represent the top 2% in all of sport science researchers in the world. For his career, he is ranked 312 out of 714 of the top 2% of the sport science researchers in the world. He has received over 7 million dollars of external funding and has provided keynote addresses and lectures in Belgium, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Thailand, China, and Turkey. He was the founding editor of the APA journal, Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, and the past editor of the Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly.
Selected publications:
- Martin, J. J. (2017). Handbook of Disability Sport and Exercise Psychology. Oxford University Press.
- Martin, J. J. (2013). Benefits and barriers to physical activity for individuals with disabilities: a social-relational model of disability perspective. Disability and Rehabilitation, 35(24), 2030-2037.
- Martin, J. J. (1999). A personal development model of sport psychology for athletes with disabilities. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 11(2), 181-193.
- Martin, J., & Martin, D. (2021). The n-pact factor, replication, power, and quantitative research in adapted physical activity quarterly. Kinesiology Review, 10(3), 363-368.
- Martin, J. (2021). The emotional experiences of Paralympic swimming medalists: Not all wins and losses are equal. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 38(3), 396-412.
Natalia Morgulec-Adamowicz
Website:
https://www.awf.edu.pl/wr/en/Structure/chair-of-movement-teaching
Prof. Natalia Morgulec-Adamowicz is a physiotherapist and graduate of the Faculty of Rehabilitation at the Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw (2000) and the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven), where she earned a European Master’s Degree in Adapted Physical Activity (2002). From 2020 to 2024, she served as Dean of the Faculty of Rehabilitation.
Her research focuses on inclusion in physical education, disability sport, and the exercise physiology of individuals with spinal cord injury. Prof. Natalia Morgulec-Adamowicz is the co-author of over 120 scientific papers published in indexed journals and 34 book chapters and monographs. She have participated in 16 international research projects, including two conducted under the supervision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) — at the London 2012 (goalball) and Vancouver 2010 (ice sledge hockey) Paralympic Games.
Prof. Natalia Morgulec-Adamowicz is also a co-founder of the Polish Scientific Association of Adapted Physical Activity and was awarded the Fellowship of the International Federation of Adapted Physical Activity (IFAPA) in 2019.
Selected publications:
- Ogonowska-Slodownik, A., Güeita-Rodriguez, J., Skomorowska, K., & Morgulec-Adamowicz, N. (2024). Effects on Function and Enjoyment of Aquatic Therapy in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Pilot Study in a Special Education School. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2024.2358860
- Ng, K., Venckuniene, K., Klavina, A., Labecka, M., Ostaseviciene, V., Pozeriene, J., Strazdina, N., Puromies, M., Reklaitiene, D. & Morgulec-Adamowicz, N. (2025). Associations Between Technology Use, Knowledge and Inclusive Physical Education Teacher-Efficacy Among European Primary School Teachers. Physical Culture and Sport. Studies and Research, 108(1), 2025. 71-83. https://doi.org/10.2478/pcssr-2025-0013
- Pawlak, M., Wnuk, B. & Morgulec-Adamowicz, N. (2024). A long-term observation on effects of modified constraint-induced movement therapy combined with bimanual training in children with hemiplegia in “The Pirate Group” program – case report. Biomedical Human Kinetics, vol. 16 no. 1, https://doi.org/10.2478/bhk-2024-0036
- Van Biesen, D., Van Damme, T., Morgulec-Adamowicz, N., Buchholtz, A., Anjum, M., & Healy, S. (2023). A Systematic Review of Digital Interventions to Promote Physical Activity in People With Intellectual Disabilities and/or Autism. Adapted physical activity quarterly : APAQ, 1–21. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.2023-0061
- Morgulec-Adamowicz N. (2020). The Sherborne Developmental Movement (SDM) for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Palaestra, 34(2); 17-22
Martin Vetter
Institution, incl. departments, City and Country
Head of Institute of Special Education
Faculty of Participation Sciences
Professur / Dept. Psychomotricity, Motologie und Movement Pedagogy
University of Education Ludwigsburg Reutealle 46, 71634 Ludwigsburg / Germany
Website:
https://www.ph-ludwigsburg.de/
Short bio:
Since 09/2023 Professor of Psychomotor Skills, Motologie and Movement Education at Ludwigsburg University of Education
2017–2023 Professorship for Psychomotor Skills and Motologie at Philipps University of Marburg. Responsibilities include heading the master's program in Motologie & Psychomotricity
2013–2018 Professor at the University of Teacher Education Schwyz (CH), Psychomotricity & Developmental Psychology, third-party funded project
2010–2013 Professor at the University of Teacher Education Central Switzerland (CH), psychomotor therapy, health education and exercise
2005–2011 Professor at the University of Special Education, Zurich, including head of the BA program in psychomotor therapy
2015–2017 Specialist representative at the Center for Support and Inclusion of the Department of Education of the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Consulting for psychomotor therapy in schools
2001–2005 Head of the Institute for Applied Movement Research at the Psychomotricity Support Association, Bonn.
1998–2000 Cologne Therapy Center for Children with Specific Learning Disabilities: Educational staff member for psychomotor development, therapy, parent counseling
Scientific Interests:
Psychomotricity and Motologie in the contexts of development, education, and health
Enabling inclusion and participation through movement-based activities
Evaluation and effectiveness of school-integrated or school-based support services
Qualitative research approaches
Professionalization processes
Prevention, resilience, accident and risk research
Diagnostics
Specialist educator for psychotraumatology (SIPT/DIPT)
University diploma as psychomotor therapist CH (EDK)
Selected publications:
Klingele Schwery, J., Vetter, M., Truxius, L., Maurer, M. N., Wyss, J. S., & Eckhart, M. (2025). Relations between graphomotor self-concept and graphomotor skills: A longitudinal study in early school age. Learning and Instruction, 101, 102229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102229
Vetter, M. (2015). School-Integrated Therapies and Inclusive Education: The Tension between Institutionally Defined Responsibility and Subjective Problem Experience and Efficacy Experience with Consequences for Interventions. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 16(3). http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/2277
Yves Vanlandewijck
Website:
https://www.gih.se
Prof. Em. Yves Vanlandewijck retired from KU Leuven in 2025 and continues his career at GIH Stockholm, with teaching assignments at Charles University Prague and the International Olympic Academy. With a background in Rehabilitation Sciences, he dedicated his professional life to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities, from rehabilitation towards and throughout the entire athlete career. What follows are a few highlights of more than 40 years of professional dedication:
As a member/chair of the IPC Sport Science Committee, he coordinated 50+ research projects during the Paralympic Games from Atlanta 1996 until PyeongChang 2018. As the principal investigator, he coordinated during more than a decade an international research group studying the relationship between cognitive functioning and sports performance, leading to the re-inclusion of athletes with intellectual impairment in the London 2012 Paralympic Games. His multidisciplinary insights in the sport-specific profiles of athletes with impairments allowed him to (co-)author position stands on classification of Para-athletes with physical and intellectual impairments and 100+ scientific peer-reviewed articles. Prof. Vanlandewijck is the founding editor of the European Journal in Adapted Physical Activity (APA). Throughout his career, he supervised 300+ Master theses in Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences.
As a teacher and program director of the International Master program of Adapted Physical Activity (1990-2022), he inspired 450+ international master students. Between 2006 and 2018, Prof. Vanlandewijck served as the project leader of a VLIR-UOS project developing a Bachelor-Master program in Physiotherapy at the Anton de Kom University of Paramaribo (Suriname). Currently, he is still teaching international cohorts in the International Master program of Sport Ethics and Integrity and the International Master program of Olympic Studies.
Prof. Vanlandewijck is the founder of the Center of Adapted Sports in Leuven – Belgium (1989), a multi-sports organization offering a permanent program of active lifestyle, leisure time physical activity and sports for individuals with disabilities. His initiatives created the foundation for the inclusion of sport coaches in a therapeutic context, bridging rehabilitation to active lifestyle. From 1991 onwards, Prof. Vanlandewijck built the scientific support program for Paralympic athletes, in collaboration with the Belgian Paralympic Committee. In his active free time, Prof. Vanlandewijck is a wheelchair basketball player/coach.
For his contributions to the domain of APA and Para(lympic) Sport, Prof. Vanlandewijck received the European Professional Award for Outstanding Achievements from the European Federation of APA in 2016 and the International Paralympic Committee Scientific Award in 2019. The absolute highlight of international presentations was the Wolffe Lecture 2017 in Denver - Colorado, opening the American College of Sport Medicine Congress.
Kristina Fagher
Presentation title:
Preliminary title of your presentation (can be specified later)
Affiliation:
Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Website: https://portal.research.lu.se/sv/persons/kristina-fagher/publications/
Short bio:
Dr Kristina Fagher is an Associate Professor in Physiotherapy in the Rehabilitation Medicine Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden. Her research focus on Para athletes´ health, injury and illness prevention and well-being in sports, and she is the founder of the adapted health promotion platform www.safeparasport.com
Clinically she is a Physiotherapist specialised in Sports Medicine and Physical Activity with more than ten years of experience of working with elite Para athletes (e.g. at the Paralympic Games 2016, 2022 and 2024). She is a member of The Concussion in Para sport group (CIPS) and she is a Physiotherapist working with Parasport Sweden.
Selected publications:
Please select the 5 most interesting publications.
Fagher, K., Runciman, P., Adam, F., Badenhorst, M., & Derman, W. (2025). A framework for safe, healthy and sustainable participation in elite Para sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 59(20), 1389-1391.
- Wik, E. H., Derman, W., Eken, M., Kunorozva, L., Lexell, J., Runciman, P., & Fagher, K. (2025). Health promotion in elite Para sport: bridging knowledge gaps and addressing individual needs-a qualitative evaluation of the Safe and Healthy Para sport (SHAPE) intervention. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 59(19), 1350-1358.
- Bentzen, M., Kenttä, G., Derman, W.& Fagher, K. (2025). Mental distress is associated with injury and illness in elite Para athletes: a 44-week prospective study over 13 860 athlete days. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 11(1), Artikel e002267. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2024-0022
- Fagher, K., Badenhorst, M., Kunorozva, L., Derman, W., & Lexell, J. (2022). “It gives me a wake up call”—It is time to implement athlete health monitoring within the Para sport context. Scandinavian Journal of Me
- Fagher, K., Dahlström, Ö., Jacobsson, J., Timpka, T., & Lexell, J. (2020). Injuries and Illnesses in Swedish Paralympic Athletes - A 52-week Prospective Study of Incidence and Risk Factors. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 30(8), 1457-1470. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.13687 dicine and Science in Sports. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.14281