Participation of children with intellectual disability compared with typically developing children.
Kids with ID miss out on community sports and skill clubs—screen preferences and shape the environment so they can join in.
01Research in Context
What this study did
King et al. (2013) asked the kids what they do after school. Forty-three kids had intellectual disability. Fifty kids were matched by age and sex.
Parents filled out a short checklist. It listed Active-Physical, Skill-Based, and Recreational activities. The team counted how many kids in each group joined each type.
What they found
Kids with ID joined fewer sports and skill clubs. They joined more casual play like board games or TV time.
The gap was medium-large. Typical kids were twice as likely to be on a team or take a class.
How this fits with other research
Liang et al. (2026) tracked movement with wrist watches. They found the same gap: kids with NDDs move 13 minutes less each day. Their meta-analysis includes Matthew’s ID group, so the stories line up.
Chezan et al. (2019) pooled motor-skill training studies. Training helps balance, but not ball skills. This may explain why kids with ID drop out of sports—they still struggle with catching and throwing.
Park et al. (2023) tried a VR bike game. Locomotor skills improved, but overall activity counts stayed flat. The new data extend Matthew’s finding: even fun tech may not raise real-world sport time.
Why it matters
You can’t fix what you don’t measure. Ask families which sports or clubs the child wants to try. Then preview the skill demands. If ball skills are weak, start with balance or VR prep programs. Finally, partner with parks and rec staff to add supports like smaller teams or peer buddies.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
We compared participation in out-of-school activities between children with intellectual disability and children with typical development using the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment and Preferences for Activities of Children questionnaires. Thirty-eight pairs of children were matched for age (mean age 12.3 ± 2.7 years), sex (17 female, 21 male), location (32 metropolitan, 6 regional) and socioeconomic background (mean SEIFA score 1021 ± 70 and 1024 ± 66). When compared to their typically developing peers, children with intellectual disability participated in fewer Active-Physical and Skill-Based activities and in more Recreational activities. Children with intellectual disability participated less frequently in Skilled-Based activities, had a higher preference for Recreational and Self-Improvement activities, enjoyed Self-Improvement activities more, and participated in a higher proportion of Social activities at home and in a lower proportion of Recreational, Active-Physical, Skill-Based, and Self-Improvement activities alone. These differences may be due to reduced physical, cognitive and social skills in children with intellectual disability, or a lack of supportive environments.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.02.029