![Robert Wilson performs a leg extension at the St. Denis Centre as part of the Adapted Physical Exercise (APEX) program coordinated by PhD student Kelly Carr in partnership with Community Living Essex County. Robert Wilson performs a leg extension at the St. Denis Centre as part of the Adapted Physical Exercise (APEX) program coordinated by PhD student Kelly Carr in partnership with Community Living Essex County.](http://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/rehse/foodservices/sites/uwindsor.ca.dailynews/files/styles/full/public/apex2.jpg?itok=76bozCv8)
Kelly Carr wants to destroy barriers.
That’s why her research as a PhD student at the University of Windsor has worked to showcase the strengths of people with disabilities to combat the negative stigma that often follows them throughout their lives.
Carr’s research is broken into three phases and examines how people with an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participating in a physical exercise program, meaningful employment and elite sports can influence opinion.