Parent-reported barriers to physical activity (PA) for teens with intellectual disabilities ( ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Must, Aviva

335807
Parent-reported barriers to physical activity (PA) for teens with intellectual disabilities ( ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Aviva Must, PhD, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA

Heidi Stanish, PhD, Department of Exercise and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA

Carol Curtin, PhD, MSW, UMass Medical School, E.K. Shriver Center, Worcester, MA

Sarah Phillips, MS, MPH, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA

Linda Bandini, PhD, RD, UMass Medical School, E.K. Shriver Center, Worcester, MA

We compared the prevalence of parent-reported child/family, social and community barriers to PA among 38 adolescents with confirmed ID, 35 adolescents with confirmed ASD and 60 typically developing (TD) adolescents. Adolescents with ID were older than those with ASD or TD: mean(SD) 16.8(1.8), 15.9(1.7), and 15.3(1.5)y, respectively. Adolescents with ASD were more likely male; parental education did not differ by group.

Barriers	ID	ASD	TD
Child/Family	n(%)	n(%)	n(%)
Poor motor skills	24(63)^a	28(80)^a	4(7)^b
Behavioral problems	16(42)^a	22(63)^a	0(0)^b
Learning problems	32(84)^a	33(94)^a	3(5)^b
Medical/physical problems	12(32)^a	13(37)^a	4(7)^b
Requires too much supervision	23(61)^a	27(77)^a	0(0)^b
Sports/PA over-stimulating	13(35)^a	18(51)^a	2(3)^b
Time constraints	18(47)^a	19(54)^a	21(35)^a
Difficulty arranging	22(58)^a	23(66)^a	12(20)^b
Median(IQR) #Child/Family Barriers	4(4)^a	5(3)^a\	0(1)^b
Social
Difficulty with social skills	25(66)^a	34(97)^b	5(8)^c
Few friends	31(82)^a	34(97)^a	14(23)^b
Adults don't make child feel welcome	11(30)^a	17(49)^a	3(5)^b
Adults lack skills to include child	25(66)^a	26(74)^a	6(10)^b
Children exclude child	18(47)^a	25(74)^b	0(0)^c
Median(IQR) #Social Barriers	3(3.25)^a	4(2)^b	0(1)^c
Community
Opportunities inadequate	22(59)^a	22(63)^a	15(25)^b
Opportunities too costly	21(55)^ab	23(68)^a	27(45)^b
Transportation unavailable	20(53)^a	16(46)^a	20(34)^a
Unsafe neighborhood	4(11)^a	6(18)^a	6(10)^a
Median(IQR) #Community Barriers	2(3)^a	2(2)^a	1(2)^b
*Median(IQR) Total*	10(9)^a	12(4)^a	2(4)^b

^{Within row: Percentages sharing the same superscript are not significantly different}

Parents reported more barriers to PA for teens with ID and ASD compared to TD teens, but were similar among ID and ASD teens.

Common approaches to reducing modifiable barriers to PA for adolescents with ASD or ID are needed to promote health equity.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe how youth with ID and ASD differ in the parent-reported barriers they face with respect to physical activity participation compared to typically developing youth

Keyword(s): Disabilities, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was a co-I on this research study and I am a nutritional epidemiologist with 20 years experience analyzing data on nutrition related research.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4190.0: Poster #6 - Emerging Issues in Disability and Public Health

2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Online Program

335807
Parent-reported barriers to physical activity (PA) for teens with intellectual disabilities ( ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Online Program

335807 Parent-reported barriers to physical activity (PA) for teens with intellectual disabilities ( ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

335807
Parent-reported barriers to physical activity (PA) for teens with intellectual disabilities ( ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)