Background This study aimed to analyse the self-evaluations of physicians and physiotherapists, from different specialisations, about their preparedness for work with people with intellectual disability (ID), and what they considered were the most significant barriers in working with people with ID. Both the physicians and physiotherapists pointed to initiatives that they found useful, such as the Healthy Athletes Program of the Special Olympics, which prepares them for everyday work with people with disability. Methods The research was carried out in Poland with a group of 120 physicians and physiotherapists working in healthcare institutions. The research was based on the authors' original questionnaire, which consists of 12 questions. Results The research participants rated their preparation for work with people with ID as 3.56 on a 4-point scale; their opinion of other representatives of the medical community was 3.44. Conclusions The physicians and physiotherapists identified gaps in their preparation to provide highly specialised medical and rehabilitation care to people with ID. They also pointed out that barriers to communication were the most significant difficulty encountered. Professionals' engagement in a program such as the Healthy Athletes Program may go some way toward improving the quality of the services they provide to people with ID.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a connection between the weather and the capacity of people with severe disabilities to undertake physical activity, their mental disposition and the occurrence of the epileptic seizures.The observation was carried out on a group of ten male subjects with severe intellectual disabilities. The observation of the persons was carried out by three pedagogues. The method of direct observation was used in the research.In the course of the conducted studies, a dependence between physical activity and temperature, atmospheric pressure and atmospheric humidity was discovered.The mental disposition and physical activity of the people with severe intellectual disabilities showed a dependence on the temperature and atmospheric pressure.