Enabling physical activity participation for children and youth with disabilities following a goal-directed, family-centred intervention.
A 12-week, family-set goal plan in a local gym helps kids with disabilities move more, and the win sticks for months.
01Research in Context
What this study did
O'Dwyer et al. (2018) ran a 12-week program at a community sports centre. Families of children with mixed disabilities set their own activity goals with a therapist. No control group was used.
What they found
Parents said their kids could do more and felt happier about movement. One in three children fully met the goal the family had picked. Gains stayed for 12 more weeks.
How this fits with other research
Ku et al. (2020) looked at 40 papers and found the same key: parents must join in, not just watch. Claire’s study shows how to turn that idea into action.
Chin et al. (2025) later used parent-run goals and self-monitoring with two teens with autism. The teens hit 14 000 steps a day and kept it up almost a year. Claire’s younger group had smaller gains, but the path is the same.
Araujo et al. (2021) tried extra parent coaching sessions on top of a goal plan. The extra time added no benefit. Claire got good results with standard family meetings, matching the “don’t over-coach” warning.
Why it matters
You can copy the Claire plan next week. Ask the family to pick one clear activity goal. Meet once a week to adjust the plan and praise progress. Keep it short; extra coaching is not needed. The child does more, the parent feels useful, and you get data that last.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of research demonstrating the optimisation and maintenance of participation outcomes following physical activity interventions for children and youth with disabilities. AIM: To evaluate changes in physical activity participation in children with disabilities following a goal-directed, family-centred intervention at a healthsports centre, and to identify factors influencing participation following the intervention. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A mixed methods pre-test post-test cohort design was applied. Recruitment occurred over a 12 month period during standard clinical service provision. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was administered to children and parents pre (T1) and post-intervention (T2), and at 12 weeks follow-up (T3). Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) was applied to assess outcomes at 12 weeks follow-up (T2-T3). Qualitative inquiry described barriers to goal attainment at T3. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Ninety two children with a range of disabilities (mean age 11.1yr; 49 males) were included in the study. Statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in parent ratings of COPM performance and satisfaction of participation goals were observed following intervention. Ratings at 12 weeks follow-up remained significantly higher than baseline, and 32% of children attained their COPM-derived GAS goal. Environmental factors were the most frequent barrier to goal attainment following intervention. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: These results provide preliminary evidence for goal-directed, family-centred interventions to optimise physical activity participation outcomes for children with disabilities.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2018 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2018.03.010