Investigating the Effects of 12-Week Fun Athletics Program on Motor Skill Development of 10-14 Year Old Children With Mild Intellectual Disability

Abstract

This study aims to determine the effects of 12-week fun athletics program on motor development of 10-14 year old children with mild intellectual disability. The sampling of the study consists of 20 students with mild intellectual disability; 10 for the control group and 10 for the experimental group. These participants were divided into two groups by employing random sampling method. The mean for the ages of the participants in the control group was 10.90 +/- 2,28 while the same value was calculated as 11.80 +/- 1,47 for those in the experimental group. The fun athletics program was implemented in the experimental group two days a week for 12 weeks; however, the control group participants were not exposed to this program during that period. Motor skills of all the participants were measured by performing Performance Evaluation Tests (Agility, speed, strength, balance, speed tests) and using MEB Psychomotor Skills Evaluation Form as pre and posttests. The results of the study revealed an improvement in gross and fine motor skills of the participants in the experimental group (p<0.05) while no differences were found for the participants in the control group. The study also showed that Performance Evaluation Tests result significantly improved according to the control group (p<0.05). In conclusion, 12-week fun athletics program was found to affect motor skills of students with mild intellectual disability positively.