Physical Activity and School-Age Individuals With Visual Impairments: A Literature Review

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to review published research literature on physical activity for school-age individuals with visual impairments by describing study characteristics and major findings. Keyword searches were used to identify articles from electronic databases published from 1982 to June 2013. Eighteen articles met all inclusion criteria, and relevant data such as participants, visual-impairment levels, theory, measurement, and dependent variables were extracted from them. Of the 18 studies, 5 were descriptive, 6 correlational, and 7 were interventions. Only 4 studies explicitly stated a theoretical or conceptual framework. Major findings suggest that low physical activity levels of school-age individuals with visual impairments may be related to perceived participation barriers including the availability of appropriate opportunities rather than visual acuity or educational setting.

Barreras, facilitadores y motivos de la práctica deportiva de deportistas con discapacidad intelectual

“…De manera general, las principales barreras que influyen en la práctica de deporte y actividad física por parte de las personas con discapacidad son: accesibilidad a los espacios públicos (Kirchner, Gerber y Smith, 2008), costes financieros, falta de compañeros y dependencia de otros (Jaarsma, Geertzen, de Jong, Dijkstra y Dekker, 2014), falta de formación de los profesionales (Brian y Haegele, 2014), falta de oportunidades consistentes (Haegele y Porretta, 2015), falta de seguridad (Greguol, Gobbing y Carraro, 2015) y poca información sobre oportunidades de práctica (Greguol et al,2015;Perkins, Columna, Lieberman y Bailey, 2013). En cuanto a los factores identificados como facilitadores, las investigaciones previas han determinado que dichos factores son: la adquisición de habilidades motrices (Lieberman, Robinson y Rollheiser, 2006;Perkins et al, 2013), la mayor capacidad financiera del practicante y el sexo (para los hombres) (Ajuwon, Kelly y Wolffe., 2015), la motivación (Perkins et al, 2013), los niveles de actividad física de los padres (Greguol et al, 2015), la determinación personal (Kirchner et al, 2008), los contactos sociales, la diversión y la formación académica del practicante y el soporte familiar y de los profesionales (Greguol et al, 2015;Haegele y Porretta, 2015;Perkins et al, 2013).…”

Perceived motor competence of children with visual impairments: A preliminary investigation

“…Research demonstrates that those with visual impairments tend to have significantly worse MSC than peers without visual impairments (Wagner, Haibach, & Lieberman, 2013) and those with more severe impairments tend to demonstrated lower MSC than peers with less severe impairments (Haibach, Wagner, & Lieberman, 2014). Delays in MSC found across these studies coincide with low levels of physical activity participation among those with visual impairments during childhood (Haegele & Porretta, 2015), providing some support for the dynamic relationship suggested by Stodden et al (2008).…”

“…Unfortunately, children with visual impairments tend to be less active than peers without disabilities (Augestad & Jiang, 2015;Haegele & Porretta, 2015). Furthermore, those with visual impairments tend to become less physically active as they age (e.g., Kozub & Oh, 2004).…”

Physical activity as the main factor affecting body composition of the visually impaired

“…Since the article by DePauw [20], only a few studies have been performed (n = 11) in the over 30-year period. One of the reasons for the lack of intervention research in this area can be difficulty with obtaining an appropriate number of participants with visual impairments [9]. Even fewer researchers have examined the relationship between motor skills and body composition in people with vision problems.…”

“…Despite the main advantages of active lifestyle, most western European adults do not perform regular life-related activities. It is especially alarming with regard to young people and adults with disabilities [8][9][10].…”