The Feasibility of Group Video Conferencing for Promotion of Physical Activity in Adolescents With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
A tablet and 30 minutes is enough to run group PE for teens with IDD.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers ran 12 weeks of group exercise classes on tablets.
31 teens with intellectual or developmental disabilities joined from home.
Each session lasted 30 minutes and used simple moves like marching and stretching.
Staff led the class through video chat while parents watched nearby.
What they found
29 out of 31 teens finished all 12 weeks.
They showed up for a large share of the classes.
During each session they moved for about 27 minutes.
No one dropped out because of tech problems.
How this fits with other research
Ayuso-Lanchares et al. (2025) shows virtual parent training works as well as in-person for preschool language delays.
Ding et al. (2017) now extends that same idea to teens doing group exercise.
Abadir et al. (2021) and Groom-Sheddler et al. (2025) both used short videos to teach safety skills to kids with autism.
Those single-case studies line up with this larger group study—video tech keeps working across ages and goals.
Why it matters
You can run a 30-minute group PE class on Zoom or FaceTime and teens with IDD will join and move.
No gym, no bus, no extra staff needed.
Try it next time weather, distance, or staffing blocks in-person sessions.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Physical activity (PA) rates of adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are low and effective strategies for increasing PA are limited. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of a group-based PA intervention that was delivered remotely to adolescents with IDD. Participants attended 30-min group PA sessions 3 times a week. PA sessions were delivered in their homes by video conferencing on a tablet computer. Thirty-one participants enrolled and 29 completed the 12-week intervention. Participants attended 77.2% ± 20.8% of scheduled sessions and averaged 26.7 ± 2.8 min of PA/session, with 11.8 ± 4.8 min at moderate- to vigorous intensity. Group-based PA delivered remotely may be a feasible approach for the promotion of PA in adolescents with IDD.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-122.6.525