‘I Would Love for Him to Be Able to Ride to School’: Autistic Children and Barriers to Cycling for Active Travel in the United Kingdom

Cycling for active travel is increasingly promoted in the UK as a response to climate change, the need to decarbonise transport and to improve public health. However, policies and interventions to promote cycling are often inaccessible to disabled people, and disabled children are rarely provided with cycle training in schools, unlike non-disabled children. There is limited research on disabled people and cycling in the UK, and even less on neurodivergent children. This qualitative study uses interviews with parents/carers of autistic children to explore the barriers they encounter when learning to cycle. Key themes include limited access to non-standard cycles, inaccessible learning methods and attitudinal barriers. Framed by the right to mobility and the concept of eco-ableism, the findings highlight the barriers to cycling for active travel and the provisions needed to overcome them. This is the first UK study of its kind, emphasising the need for more inclusive cycling policy and practice.