Differences in patterns of physical participation in recreational activities between children with and without intellectual and developmental disability.
Kids with IDD are on the playground but play less and need more help—so target frequency and independence, not just access.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Chien et al. (2017) watched 11 common play activities such as tag, biking, and playground time.
They compared kids with intellectual or developmental disabilities to matched peers without.
The team counted how often each child joined in and how much help they needed.
What they found
Children with IDD were there, but they played less often and needed more adult help.
The gap showed up in every activity, not just hard ones like team sports.
How this fits with other research
Hinckson et al. (2013) already warned that kids with ID move less, but they had no good way to measure it. Chi-Wen gives the hard numbers.
Hamama et al. (2021) later pooled 15 studies and found only one sure booster: better motor skills. The new data say frequency and independence matter just as much.
Yuan et al. (2022) tracked the same group during COVID lockdown and saw activity crash to 10 minutes a day. Chi-Wen’s 2017 picture looks rosy by comparison, showing the gap is old, not just pandemic.
Why it matters
You already know these kids are on the playground; this paper tells you they are mostly watching. Build goals that raise both how often and how independently they play. Add motor-skill drills, prompt fading, and peer models. Five extra turns on the slide today can mean a fuller recess next month.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Children with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) are at risk of experiencing limited participation in recreational activities, where they may be present but not physically engaged. AIM: To compare patterns of physical engagement in recreational activities between children with and without IDD. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Fifty children with IDD (26 boys, 24 girls; mean age 8.7 years) were matched for age and sex with 50 typically developing children. Parents completed a questionnaire which captured participation in 11 recreational activities involving hand use as an indication of physical engagement. OUTCOME AND RESULTS: More than 80% of children in both groups participated physically in eight recreational activities, but fewer children with IDD participated in six activities when compared with typically developing children. Children with IDD also participated less frequently in five activities and required more assistance to participate in all the 11 activities. Parents wanted their child with IDD to participate in 10 recreational activities with less assistance. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The difference between the groups related to participation frequency, independence, and parents' desire for changes in their child's participation. Greater efforts are needed to address these differences and to support recreational participation in children with IDD.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.05.007