Physical activity levels in children with developmental disabilities during school
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Fenili,Erica, Osborne, Tara, Ewertz, Kristin, Farney, Heather, (2008) . Physical activity levels in children with developmental disabilities during school . In Proceedings: 4th Annual Symposium: Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University, p.133-134
Current guidelines recommend that school-age children accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on most days of the week. However, little is known about the activity level of school-age children with developmental disabilities (DD): To evaluate physical activity behavior patterns of children with DD during 3 school settings: adapted physical activity (APE, 55 min), classroom (CR, 55 min), and recess (RC, 25 min). Participants were 14 youth (6 boys, 8 girls, 8.7+2.2 yrs) with DD. Heart rate (HR) was measured by telemetry (S410™ Heart Rate Monitor, POLAR®) during APE, CR, and RC on three different days, respectively. HRs were downloaded to a computer via SonicLink™. Resting HR (RHR) was measured on three days between 8 to 8:45 a.m. while the child was read to and rested on a beanbag. RHR was calculated as the mean of the 5 lowest HRs on the day that recorded the lowest RHRs (Logan et al., 2000). Time spent in MVPA was determined by the mean time spent (min) above 1.25 RHR (>1.25 x RHR) in the three school settings (APE, CR, and RC). For these three settings, average time spent at MVPA was 84.2+23.2 min. Given that this only represents the morning session classes, these students were meeting and exceeding their recommended 60 minutes of MVPA during the school day.
Paper presented to the 4th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, April 25, 2008.
Research completed at the Department of Physical Therapy, College of Health Professions