The physical and psychosocial impact of a school-based running programme for adolescents with disabilities.
Two short hallway runs a week can give small but real fitness and happiness gains for teens with developmental disabilities.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Classroom staff led a six-week running club. Kids ran twice a week for thirty minutes.
The group had nineteen middle-school students with autism, Down syndrome, or other intellectual disability.
No extra staff were hired. Teachers used the school gym and hallway.
What they found
Fitness scores nudged up. Quality-of-life scores nudged up.
Both gains were small but real. No one dropped out.
How this fits with other research
A 2022 pilot called DSFit ran a similar twice-weekly program for Down teens. They also saw small fitness gains.
Northrup et al. (2022) tested sixteen weeks of adapted soccer. They found medium gains in mood and behavior, not just small ones. The longer time may explain the bigger payoff.
Costa et al. (2017) reviewed nineteen studies and found exercise helps daily living skills in Down syndrome. The new running data fit that pattern.
Maine et al. (2020) warned that most school health programs lack strong proof. This study adds one more brick, not the whole wall.
Why it matters
You do not need fancy gear. Use the hallway, gym, or blacktop. Two short runs a week can lift fitness and mood for teens with ID or autism. Track two numbers: how far they jog and how they rate their day. Six weeks is enough to see a trend.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Adolescents with disabilities have fewer opportunities to participate in community-based fitness programmes. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a school-based running programme at a local middle school in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on fitness and quality of life (QoL) in children with physical and cognitive disabilities in a life-skills classroom. METHODS: Nineteen adolescents with diagnosed disabilities including intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome were recruited from three life-skills classrooms to participate in a school-based running programme. The programme was designed to be implemented two times/week for 6 weeks by classroom teachers/aides. Physical therapy faculty and students developed the programme and assisted with implementation. Each session lasted 30 min, consisting of a warm-up and cooldown, relay races, games and timed runs. Pre- and post-test measures included physiological cost index (PCI) and Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL™). Pre- and post-test data were compared using Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Each week participants also completed a training log to reflect on the activity for the day. RESULTS: Participants demonstrated significant improvements in PCI (P = 0.028) and the PedsQL™ (P = 0.008) following the running programme. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study suggest that participation in a 6-week school-based running programme may improve fitness and QoL in adolescents with disabilities.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2024 · doi:10.1111/jir.13104