Effects of a Special Olympics Unified Sports soccer program on psycho-social attributes of youth with and without intellectual disability.
Eight weeks of inclusive after-school soccer lifts social skills and cuts problem behaviors in middle-schoolers with ID while improving peer attitudes.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers ran an eight-week Special Olympics Unified Sports soccer program. Kids with intellectual disability played on the same teams as classmates without disability. They practiced three times a week after school.
The team wanted to know if this mix would help social skills and cut problem behaviors. They also asked if typical peers would change their attitudes about classmates with ID.
What they found
The soccer group showed better social competence and fewer problem behaviors than the no-soccer group. The gains were medium-sized.
Typical peers also improved. They saw their teammates with ID as more like them and more capable.
How this fits with other research
Baran et al. (2013) ran the same eight-week Unified Sports soccer program. They tracked fitness and ball skills instead of social skills. Both studies found positive results, so the program helps bodies and friendships at the same time.
Northrup et al. (2022) tested a longer, 16-week adapted soccer program only for teens with Down syndrome. They also saw medium drops in aggression, anxiety, and depression. The 2012 study shows the shorter, inclusive version works too.
O'Reilly (1997) used Special Olympics basketball for seven weeks and saw similar cuts in maladaptive behavior. The pattern holds across sports and decades.
Why it matters
You can add Unified Sports soccer to a middle-school behavior plan. Three after-school sessions a week for eight weeks can boost social skills and cut problem behaviors without extra classroom time. Invite typical peers to join; their attitudes improve too. If you lack soccer space, try basketball or running—neighbors show any inclusive sport helps.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Email the PE teacher to set up a three-day-a-week lunch soccer club with mixed teams.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of a Special Olympics (SO) Unified Sports (UNS) soccer program on psycho-social attributes of youth with and without intellectual disabilities (ID). Participants were 76 male youth with (n=38) and without (n=38) ID. Participants with ID were randomly allocated into a SO athletes group (n=23, mean age=14.5; SD=1.2 years) and a control group (CG) (n=15, mean age=14.5; SD=.8 years). Twenty-three randomly selected youth without ID formed the partner group (mean age=14.1; SD=.9 years) and 15 youth without ID (mean age=13.8; SD=.5 years) formed the CG. Instruments included the Friendship Activity Scale (FAS) (Siperstein, 1980), the Adjective Checklist (Siperstein, 1980), and the Children Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991). The soccer training program lasted eight weeks, 1.5h per session, three times per week, in addition to school physical education (PE). The CG did not participate in any sports in addition to PE. The findings showed that the UNS program was effective in decreasing the problem behaviors of youth with ID and increasing their social competence and FAS scores. In addition, the program was found to be effective in improving the attitude of youth without disabilities toward participants with disabilities. In conclusion, the present findings demonstrate the utility of a UNS program for both youth with and without disabilities.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2011.09.011