EFFECT OF A METHOD FOR DEVELOPING COMMUNICATION SKILLS ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Background
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a selected special education method on the level of physical activity in schoolchildren with intellectual disability.

Material and methods
The study was conducted on 32 children with rather similar backgrounds: all participants were Armenians with no medical history of any registered disorders and the same moderate degree of intellectual disability (IQ score = 35-49). A physical education program based on two games using the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) was conducted for three months by a physical educator trained in PECS. The level of habitual physical activity before and after the study period was assessed by the Physical Activity Questionnaire for children (PAIC-A) and pedometry (Omron HJ-112, Illinois, USA). Two-way ANOVA (intellectual disability × intervention) with a post hoc Bonferroni test was used to examine the differences between the pre- and post-intervention physical activity and pedometry assessment results.

Results
The use of PECS resulted in an overall increase in the levels of physical activity. The results showed a significant group-by-time interaction effect for unstructured physical activity, structured exercise, organized sports, commuting to and from school, and total sedentary activities (all measured in min/week; p<0.05). Post hoc comparisons revealed a remarkable improvement in PAIC-A and pedometry scores in the intervention group (p<0.05).

Conclusions
Technologies for developing communication skills are an option to increase the physical activity of children with intellectual disability. Enhanced working memory facilitates improved executive motor functions.