HRQOL and Youth Athletes with Physical Disabilities

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a multidimensional concept including domains of physical, mental, emotional, and social functioning focusing on the impact of health status on quality of life. Sport engagement and social support from significant others can positively influence the HRQOL of youth athletes with physical disabilities. Examination of the relationships between sport engagement, social support, and HRQOL and the predicting effect of sport engagement and social support on HRQOL is necessary to understand how best to design programs and interventions that promote positive sport experience with appropriate support to contribute to improved HRQOL of youth athletes with physical disabilities.

Purpose: Grounded in the HRQOL model, the purpose of the dissertation is to a) examine the relationships among athlete engagement, social support, and HRQOL, and (b) examine the predicting effect of athlete engagement and social support on HRQOL of youth with physical disabilities. A secondary focus of analysis will be descriptively analyzing the major types of social support from different social agents toward sport engagement and HRQOL.

Participants: Participants were 68 youth athletes with physical disabilities engaged in disability sport for at least four months or one competitive sport season.

Method: Participants completed a survey asking about their sport engagement, perceived social support, and HRQOL. The survey was completed one time before or after a sport practice and took approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.

Results: Sport engagement, social support, and HRQOL of youth athletes with physical disabilities were statistically related to each other. In correlation analyses of subdomains of each variable, consistent and inconsistent findings were reported compared to previous literature. Social support significantly predicted HRQOL while sport engagement did not. Descriptive analysis and frequency counts showed that parents were the primary support providers for all types of social support, coaches were the second, and peers were the third most important support providers.

Conclusion: Youth athletes with physical disabilities seem to have positive perception on their sport engagement, social support provided by significant others, and HRQOL. Confidence in sport involvement can be a component positively related to HRQOL. The positive relationship between social support and HRQOL shows the importance of social support through sport context, especially from parents.

Adults with IDD aspire to become Fitness Leaders

Oregon State University reached out to the community to support adults with ID/DD in their pursuit of a career in fitness by developing an adaptive training module that aims to educate and prepare them to become fitness instructors.

In Phase I of the project, 3 mutually exclusive focus groups were conducted with (i) adults with IDD aspiring to be fitness leaders (ii) hiring managers and fitness instructors of local fitness centers (iii) caregivers and direct support professionals of people with IDD. The main purpose of the focus groups was to assess the community’s readiness for fitness instructors with IDD and to get perspectives of major stakeholders on the structure and content of the training module. The focus groups were held virtually (via Zoom) in late November 2021. Focus group 1 had 5 participants (adults with IDD); focus group 2 had 5 participants (hiring managers and fitness instructors of local fitness facilities); focus group 3 had 4 participants (caregivers and direct support professionals of people with IDD. 

A qualitative content analysis began in March of 2022, to identify trends and patterns that reappeared. Main themes that emerged from the focus groups included supports needed for instructors with IDD, fitness instructor characteristics, consumer readiness for instructors with IDD, along with specific content and experiences that should be included in training of future fitness instructors with IDD. Specific to some of the content and experiences, ‘alternative’ or ‘modified’ certification also emerged as a potential tangible outcome of fitness instructor trainings. For example, modified yoga instructor certification and modified CPR certification. The findings are also being used to guide the design of the training modules for future fitness instructors (Phase II of the overarching project).

To make the process community-engaged, the project team continually partnered with community members. In the summer and fall of 2021 the community collaborators included 4 community members - 2 of whom were young adults with IDD and 2 were direct support providers. As individual schedules and responsibilities shifted, 3 of those collaborators (2 support providers and 1 adult with IDD) had to say goodbye to the group but were replaced with 3 more adults with IDD. The community collaborators have been an integral part of planning and execution of the project. There was collaboration in the drafting of questions for focus groups, as well as reviewing all materials to ensure that they are accessible for, and respectful towards people with disabilities. Collaborators co-led the focus groups and spent substantial time independently and in meetings with the larger research team during the content analysis phase, helping identify and add perspective on the themes that emerged. 

 Funds from the I’m An Athlete grant were used specifically to compensate one of the collaborator’s support personnel, who provides support with communication. While all collaborators were compensated for their time and expertise, funds from this grant facilitated participation of one collaborator by helping translate vocal communications. Most notable is the access and equity established through this funding. We are truly grateful for the support provided through I’m An Athlete.

Georgia Southern has the Super Eagles

Georgia Southern offers a Super Eagles program for youth with varied disabilities to improve health-related quality of life. The program used their I’m An Athlete grant to examine the impact of sport engagement and social support on health-related quality of life in youth with physical disabilities. The research team found that social support (especially from parents) significantly predicted quality of life while sport engagement did not. Coaches and peers were also found to be important social supports but were still distant to parents. This study demonstrated the importance of family support in engaging youth with physical impairments in healthy behaviors and opportunities. The importance of this engagement is highlighted by participant and parent reviews.

“We are so thankful for what super eagles means for our daughter as well as other special needs kids. It is a great opportunity for her to develop healthy habits as well as use adaptive equipment. It also allows Ella to build new relationships.” – Scott Webb

“I feel strong today, look at my muscle” (as she poses the arm’s bicep) – Ella Webb

“Super Eagles has allowed my son to interact with typical peers in a college setting. It also has allowed him to work on muscular strength while staying active.” – Shelly Hood

“The funding we have received from I am an Athlete has helped us purchase equipment to use in training youth with developmental disabilities in our Super Eagles program. Through this program, our participants have seen increases in strength that have improved their activities of daily living, and they have learned to enjoy exercise.” – Sarah Creveling

“SuperEagles is more than just a class that is offered to Georgia Southern students to gain hands-on experience in the field of special populations and exercise. SuperEagles is a community-based program that allows a variety of individuals to exercise in a one-on-one personal training setting while having peers nearby. This program takes the needs of the SuperEagles and tailors an exercise program to help meet their goals all while having fun and learning different techniques.

The I Am an Athlete Grant helped SuperEagles as the grant was used to purchase more equipment. Introducing new equipment to the SuperEagles helps them learn those new and different techniques. For example, the center of mass bells that were purchased allows SuperEagles to utilize different equipment for different exercises. I found that the center of mass bells worked well for individuals that struggled with stabilization. Even though a bicep curl can be performed with a 5lb. dumbbell, having the weight evenly distributed around the center of mass bells allowed the SuperEagles to feel more comfortable. Overall, SuperEagles is an amazing program, and any chance to improve the experience of the participants whether it’s through new equipment, new exercises, or trainers, all goes such a long way.” – Jordan Brown

Golf and ASD

Rio Watanabe, a Doctoral Student from the Ohio State University in Adapted Physical Education, is currently examining the impact that golf has on the dynamic between parents and their children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Sport is sport and research in youth with ASD typically examines personal impacts from activities such as swimming or Tai Chi. This study is one of the first to examine the role of sport on the connection between parents and their children. What could be more valuable than connecting with one’s parents? Research interviews should be completed in the next month and I am proud to say that Rio has also presented this work at the International Organization Health, Sports, and Kinesiology conference.

Motor Development Program for Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Erin Snapp, graduate student at Wayne State University, presented work on a sport-based motor development intervention for children with intellectual disabilities. I'm An Athlete was proud to support this work and Erin's travel to share her findings (local and national conferences).

Affect in Wheelchair Athletes

One of our award recipients, Frazer Atkinson, studied 327 wheelchair athletes this spring. Frazer found that athletes, in general, wanted to be perfectionists and had high involvement in prosocial behaviors. One of my favorite aspects of sport is that it builds communities of people - this is especially important for people with disabilities who face a lot of barriers to social opportunities. Athletes also reported some altruistic behaviors outside of sports. Great study.

Spring 2018 Project Summaries

I’m An Athlete sponsored 7 project in the spring of 2018. Below is a brief summary of each project:

·      A Community and Therapeutic Recreation major for UNC-Greensboro is partnering with the local parks and recreation department to start a floor curling program to increase socialization, self-determination, and mobility in adaptive sport participants. Maintaining physical activity is key to preserving quality of life and this program will help some athletes maintain their activity and provide a new option for others.

·      A Kinesiology major from Mississippi State University is developing energy expenditure equations for adults with Down Syndrome. Health disparities are prevalent in this population and the project will enable practitioners to use practical movement technology to design and oversee proper weight management and activity programs for adults with Down Syndrome.

·      A Physical Education and Recreation major from North Carolina Central University is examining athletic identity in wheelchair basketball athletes. These data will allow therapeutic recreation and disability sport specialists to better recruit and design community and competitive sport options for persons with physical impairments.

·      A Doctor of Physical Therapy from Marshall University will assess sled-hockey athletes and their parents on mood and self-expression. Disability sport athletes are often isolated in sport and the current project aims to bridge the gap and raise awareness of the potential psychological benefits of adaptive sports. By engaging in adaptive sports, athletes not only learn to accept their disability, but overcome functional limitations to achieve self-actualization.

·      A Ph.D. student studying Psychology at the University of Kentucky will evaluate parental barriers for their child with autism’s involvement in physical activity as well as the effects of sport participation on youth self-efficacy. This researcher hopes to identify perceived parental barriers for adolescents with autism, a population that is typically excluded from adapted sport. This study will also examine if sport can increase self-efficacy in those with autism-spectrum disorder.

·      A Health and Applied Human Science student from UNC-Wilmington is examining the effect of an 8-week adapted physical education program on sport skills. Unlike able-bodied sports, adapted sports afford individuals more opportunities for physical activity as they age. Sport provides essential social, functional, and health benefits to persons with disabilities and the ability to prepare more individuals for sport opportunities can only enhance quality of life for individuals typically excluded from physical activity and sport.

A lecturer in Kinesiology at the University of Alabama-Huntsville (currently completing a doctorate degree) is assessing cardiovascular function of youth wheelchair basketball players to determine the health benefits of sustained participation. There is little existing information on the physiological responses from participating in youth adapted sports. Therefore, the main benefit of this study is to gain knowledge on what level of intensity and caloric expenditure occurs from participating in a wheelchair basketball game.