Physical activity and motor skill outcomes of a 10-week intervention for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities ages 4 – 13: A pilot study

Abstract Background Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) often experience increased barriers to engaging in physical activity (PA) which can stem from lack of gross motor function (GMF) development. Intervening on GMF at an early age can create better opportunities for children with IDD to engage in regular PA. In turn, increased PA can improve health outcomes and increase social skills. Objective The primary objective of this pilot study was to explore the effectiveness of a community-based GMF-focused PA intervention for improving overall motor skills and PA for children with IDD. Methods All study participants (n = 24) engaged in 10 weeks of programming for 1 h each week. A convenience sample was utilized. Results Results indicated no statistically significant changes pre to post for motor skill scores. However, a visual analysis of mean changes showed a consistent pattern of increased scores from pre to post on most skills. Additionally, we found that a change in participant locomotor skills significantly predicted change in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA), F (1,11) = 5.16, Adj R2 = .26, p = .04. Conclusions These results suggest individualized attention on GMF may help to increase motor skills for children with IDD. This study adds to the small but growing amount of research examining the efficacy of community based adapted PA interventions. Further, study results should support continued exploration of effective approaches to address the motor delays experienced by children with IDD.