title: Physical activity levels of adolescents with and without intellectual disabilities during physical education and recess.
abstract: To compare physical activity levels in adolescents with and without intellectual disabilities during physical education and recess. Forty adolescents diagnosed with intellectual disabilities (inclusive classrooms, n=20; self-contained classrooms, n=20) and 40 age-matched typically developing peers (general classrooms) participated. All participants wore an Actigraph GT1M accelerometer for 5 consecutive weekdays during school hours. Three groups of adolescents were similarly active during physical education; however, adolescents with intellectual disabilities in self-contained classrooms were less active during recess than did the other two groups. In addition, they spent less percentage of time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during recess than did the typically developing adolescents. An inclusive, structured, and supportive environment promotes physical activity engagement in adolescents with intellectual disabilities.
authors.affiliation: National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan, ROC. Electronic address: chpan@nknucc.nknu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Chien-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Kaohsiung Municipal Cishan Junior High School, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Chin-Wen
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Tainan Municipal Madou Junior High School, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: I Chiao
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated School for Students with Hearing Impairments of National University of Tainan, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Po-Jen
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hsu
keywords: Adolescents; Intellectual disability; Physical activity; School setting