Physical activity of children and youth with disabilities

• Published in: Advances in Rehabilitation Vol. 32; no. 4; pp. 45 - 54
• Main Authors: Piłatowicz, Kaja, Zdunek, Marta Kinga, Molik, Bartosz, Nowak, Agnieszka, Marszałek, Jolanta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Poznan Termedia Publishing House 2018; Termedia Publishing
• Subjects: adaptation; Children & youth; children and youth with disabilities; Children with disabilities; disability; Exercise; Literature reviews; People with disabilities; physical activity
• ISSN: 0860-6161; 1734-4948
• DOI: 10.5114/areh.2018.83394

Introduction Physical activity is defined as every movement performed by skeletal muscles above resting metabolic rate. It is important for children and youth as it contributes to appropriate emotional, social and somatic development. It may be limited by developmental disorders, diseases and disabilities. The aim of the work was to review the literature regarding physical activity of children and youth with motor disabilities. Material and methods The literature review was performed with the use of EBSCO and PubMed databases. The study inclusion criteria were as follows: publication in the English, Spanish or Polish language (1), abstract and/or title of the work included phrases “physical activity” and “children” and “disability” or “children with disabilities” and “fitness” and “activity” or “performance” and “children with disabilities” and “physical activity” (2), the work was published in the years 2011-2018 (3), it is available as a full-text article (4) and it comes from a scientific journal (5). Results As a result of the literature review, 516 articles were found, out of which 66 were found in EBSCO and 450 in PubMed. Ultimately, 35 papers which fulfilled the inclusion criteria (27 original articles and 8 reviews) were qualified for the study. Conclusions Persons with disabilities take up any forms of physical activity considerably less frequently than functionally fit individuals. Barriers which hinder taking up physical activity by children with disabilities are constituted mainly by environmental, psychological and physical factors. In order to assess physical activity of children and youth with disabilities, accelerometers, endurance tests, participation and quality of life questionnaires and interviews are applied most frequently.