Skill-related physical fitness versus aerobic fitness as a predictor of executive functioning in children with intellectual disabilities or borderline intellectual functioning.
Motor-skill fitness, not aerobic fitness, predicts stronger inhibition and flexibility years later in kids with ID or borderline IQ.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team followed children with intellectual disability or borderline IQ for four years.
They tested two kinds of fitness: skill-related (balance, speed, coordination) and aerobic (how long you can run).
Each year they also checked two executive functions: stopping yourself (inhibition) and switching tasks (cognitive flexibility).
What they found
Only skill-related fitness predicted later gains in inhibition and flexibility.
Aerobic fitness scores told us nothing about future executive skills.
In plain words: better balance and ball skills today mean stronger self-control four years later.
How this fits with other research
Smith et al. (2010) saw the same link in a snapshot study, but Hartman et al. (2017) now proves the link lasts years, not minutes.
Oppewal et al. (2015) showed poor fitness predicts daily-living decline in older adults with ID; the new study flips the lens to kids and shows fitness can forecast cognitive growth, not just loss.
Wouters et al. (2017) proved fitness tests are reliable for this population, giving us the green light to use them in practice.
Why it matters
When you write a PT or IEP goal, add motor-skill objectives alongside academic ones. A ten-minute obstacle course or bean-bag toss today may boost inhibition scores next semester. Swap some lap-running time for balance and coordination games; the evidence says it will do more for executive function than chasing a mile time.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) or borderline intellectual disabilities (BIF) often demonstrate impairments in executive functioning (EF). Studies in typically developing children show that aerobic fitness (AF) is positively related with EF. Skill-related physical fitness (SF) might, however, be a stronger predictor of EF than AF, as cognitive challenges are inherent in application of these skills. In this study, AF and SF were examined simultaneously in relationship with domains of EF in children with ID or BIF. Seventy-three children (age range 8-11; 51 boys) with ID (IQ range 56-79) or BIF (IQ range 71-79) were measured annually over a period of 4 years on AF (20-m endurance shuttle run test) and SF (plate tapping and 10×5m run). EF was measured with the Stroop Color-Word test (inhibition), Trailmaking and Fluency test (cognitive flexibility), Self-ordered pointing task (working memory) and the Tower of London (planning). Multilevel models showed that SF was significantly associated with inhibition and both measures of cognitive flexibility, but in the same models no significant associations between AF and EF were found. In addition, age was significantly related to working memory and cognitive flexibility, favouring the older children. In children with ID or BIF, SF is of greater importance than AF in relationship with core domains of EF.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.03.001