Feasibility of the Go2Play Active Play intervention for increasing physical and social development in children with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Introduction An active play is designed to increase children’s physical activity levels and fundamental movement skills through outdoor play and is well-suited to the needs of children with intellectual disabilities. However, no active play interventions have included children with intellectual disabilities. This study aims to investigate the feasibility of a school-based active play intervention for children with intellectual disabilities. Method Children aged 7–12 years who had intellectual disabilities and were independently ambulatory were eligible. This single-group 17-week intervention was implemented in two additional support needs schools. It consisted of a weekly 1-h active play session incorporating 30 min of structured games and 30 min of free play. Feasibility of recruitment/retention, adherence, and outcome measures were investigated. Outcome measures included school-based physical activity (ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer), fundamental movement skills (Test of Gross Motor Development-2), and social interactions (Playground Observation of Peer Engagement). Staff feedback was collected via open-ended questionnaire. Feasibility was investigated using descriptive statistics and questionnaire data analyzed using thematic analysis. Potential pre-post changes were investigated for school-based physical activity, fundamental movement skills, and social interactions using paired samples t tests. The progression criteria were (1) > 50% of eligible participants recruited, (2) > 50% of recruited participants retained, (3) > 50% of active play sessions spent in MVPA, and (4) > 50% of participants complete outcome measurements. Results All progression criteria were met. Recruitment and retention rates were 100% (n=21 participants). Intervention adherence was high, based on data from n=1 school, with 90% of participants attending all sessions. Measuring physical activity using accelerometry and fundamental movement skills using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 were feasible. The Playground Observation of Peer Engagement tool to measure social interactions was not feasible. The only significant increase post-intervention was for social interactions during structured play (pre–post mean difference: –1.46, 95% CI −1.99, −0.93). Staff feedback was positive with the intervention well received by schools and potential benefits post-intervention identified by teachers. Conclusion The Go2Play Active Play intervention is feasible for children with intellectual disabilities. Future research should further investigate feasibility and implementation on a larger scale using a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial. Trial registration ISRCTN registry: ISRCTN10277566.

Making physical activity fun and accessible to adults with intellectual disabilities: A pilot study of a gamification intervention

“…This small change in the organisation at the start of the study (i.e., during the baseline phase) resulted in an increased use (i.e., from no use or occasional use to daily use) of the cycling equipment by 14 participants. As seen in previous studies, incorporating planned free play periods in interventions for individuals with intellectual disabilities can contribute to their physical and social development(McGarty et al, 2021).Although nonsignificant, a positive trend in participants' muscular strength was observed for participants who took part in the pre-and post-test measures. While encouraging, two important limitations surrounding this outcome must be noted.…”

“…This small change in the organisation at the start of the study (i.e., during the baseline phase) resulted in an increased use (i.e., from no use or occasional use to daily use) of the cycling equipment by 14 participants. As seen in previous studies, incorporating planned free play periods in interventions for individuals with intellectual disabilities can contribute to their physical and social development (McGarty et al, 2021).…”

Use of game tools in martial arts for endurance development

“…Researchers emphasize the unique opportunity of play in the physical and moral education of children [9,10]. Especially in the development of cognitive interests, in strengthening the will and character, and in forming the ability to navigate the environment and the team [11,12,13].…”