Effects of a trampoline exercise intervention on motor performance and balance ability of children with intellectual disabilities.
Twenty minutes of daily trampoline play for 12 weeks improves balance and motor skills in school-aged kids with intellectual disability.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Giagazoglou et al. (2013) tested a 12-week trampoline program for kids with intellectual disability.
The kids jumped for 20 minutes each school day. A second group got no extra exercise.
Both groups took balance and motor tests before and after the 12 weeks.
What they found
The trampoline group scored higher on balance and motor tests at the end.
The no-exercise group did not improve.
How this fits with other research
Tsai (2009) got the same motor gains with table-tennis instead of trampolines. Both studies lasted 10–12 weeks and worked with 8- to 11-year-olds who had developmental delays.
Cheng et al. (2013) also used 20-minute sessions, but they moved kids’ legs for them. Passive knee work helped kids with cerebral palsy walk faster, while active trampoline play helped kids with ID balance better.
Feyzi Dehkharghani et al. (2024) shows another 2013-era path: brain stimulation instead of exercise. They sped up thinking in kids with ID, while Paraskevi boosted movement. Together they suggest you can pick physical or cognitive tools to fit your client’s goals.
Why it matters
You now have three cheap, school-ready tools—trampolines, table-tennis, or even passive leg work—that each lift motor skills in late-elementary kids with delays. If you have access to a mini-trampoline, try 20 minutes at the start of each school day. Track single-leg stance time or heel-to-toe steps once a week; the Paraskevi data say you should see a clear upward trend by week 6.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Start each session with 5 minutes of two-foot bouncing on a mini-trampoline and chart longest single-leg stand as your weekly motor probe.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Balance and motor impairments are most evident among inactive individuals with ID that might be particularly susceptible to a loss of basic functioning and further limit the person's autonomy in activities of daily living. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of a 12-week trampoline exercise intervention program on motor and balance ability of school aged children with intellectual disability (ID). Eighteen healthy schools aged children (mean age=10.3 ± 1.6 years) with moderate ID were assigned either to an experimental group (n=9) or a control group (n=9). The experiment group attended a 12 weeks trampoline training intervention program consisting of daily individualized 20-min sessions, while the control group followed the regular school schedule. Balance was assessed using three tasks of increased difficulty (double-leg stance with eyes opened or closed, and one-leg stance with eyes opened) performed while standing on an electronic pressure platform (EPS). Motor performance of all participants was tested using sit and reach test and long and vertical jump tests all derived from the Eurofit Test Battery of physical fitness. Trampoline intervention resulted in significant improvements of participants' performance in all motor and balance tests. In conclusion, trampoline training can be an effective intervention for improving functional outcomes and can be recommended as an alternative mode of physical activity programming for improving balance and motor performance. Furthermore, it also supports the idea that individuals with ID require enjoyable and interesting intervention programs such as the trampoline program used in this study so as to remain active and consequently to facilitate their overall development and promote a more active and healthier way of life.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.05.034