The article “Sport and Autism: Social Adaptation Experience in Kazakhstan” approaches autism spectrum disorder (ASD) not merely as a neurodevelopmental condition but as a socio-institutional lens through which the inclusivity of public policy and the logic of resource allocation can be critically assessed. The rising prevalence of ASD diagnoses is interpreted beyond epidemiological growth, situating it within the transformation of diagnostic frameworks and the consolidation of the neurodiversity paradigm. This shift, we argue, exposes a structural tension between declarative commitments to inclusion and the uneven institutional capacities that sustain everyday practices of support.

The study seeks to critically evaluate the role of physical culture and adaptive sport in facilitating the social adaptation of individuals with ASD in Kazakhstan. Rather than reducing sport to a therapeutic intervention, we conceptualize it as an institutional mediator of social agency that enables embodied communication and reconfigures pathways of participation. Such a perspective allows us to move beyond functionalist interpretations and to interrogate the normative assumptions embedded in inclusion policies.

The empirical component (N = 177) is based on survey data collected from parents of children with ASD and adult participants. The findings indicate a positive association between sustained physical activity and improvements in communicative competence, autonomy, and subjective well-being. However, infrastructural deficits and professional shortages reveal a persistent gap between policy rhetoric and implementation practices, suggesting systemic constraints within the current model of social support.

The study contends that the institutionalization of adaptive sport should be framed as a strategic priority within social policy and public health agendas, aimed not only at rehabilitation but at restructuring conditions of inclusive participation.