Thank you for allowing us to recruit participants from your event. We were made extremely welcome and the research benefitted considerably as a consequence. Here is a summary of the findings of the study. If you would like a more detailed report please contact me.
Background: There is little literature that explains the relationship between
intellectual disability (ID) and physical and sensory disabilities. A review conducted in 1987 indicated increased prevalence of physical health problems amongst people with ID but no subsequent research has been conducted (McLaren & Bryson, 1987; Hatton, 2012). The current classification system used by the International Federation for Para Athletes with Intellectual Disability (INAS) does not take into account any relationship between ID and physical or sensory disabilities . The present study aimed to provide evidence to enable INAS to address the potential inequalities in the classification system and to add to understanding of the relationship between ID and physical and sensory disability.
What we did: Participants (N = 111) were recruited from INAS, Special Olympics and Inside Out sporting events for people with ID. IQ measurements were gained either from records or by administration of an assessment. All participants, with supporter, were administered a semi-structured health interview. Sports performance scores were also calculated for people who took part in swimming or athletics based on a comparison of their recent time in a competitive event with the world record holder for their gender. We also used group membership (whether the athlete competed in INAS or regional sports events such as Special Olympics or Inside Out events) as a second measure of performance, assuming that INAS athletes would have higher levels of performance than athletes competing in regional events. This allowed us to look at the relationships between physical disability, IQ and
performance using correlation and regression methods.
Results: Findings indicated a weak negative correlation between IQ and additional physical disability. This means that people with lower IQ had a higher level of
physical disability. The data also suggested that level of additional physical disability negatively predicts athletic performance. This means that the more physical
disabilities a person has, the less well they are likely to perform athletically. There was also some limited support for the suggestion that IQ positively predicts
performance. This means that higher IQ may lead to better sports performance but we cannot be sure of this as only one of our measures of performance showed this. We also found that INAS athletes generally have lower levels of disability and higher IQs than regional level athletes.
Conclusion: This suggests that the current classification system utilised by INAS may discriminate against people with lower cognitive ability and higher levels of additional physical disability. In order to ensure that sport for people with ID acts as a platform for social inclusion it would seem helpful to reform this practice.
If you have any queries please feel free to contact me.
Rosanna Gilderthorp, Trainee Clinical Psychologist
Salomons Centre for Applied Psychology, Runcie Court, Broomhill Road. Tunbridge Wells, Kent. TN3 0TF
[email protected] References:
Hatton, C. (2012). Intellectual disability: Classification, epidemiology and causes. In E. Emerson, C. Hatton, K. Dickson, R. Gone, A. Caine & J. Bromley (Eds.), Clinical psychology and people with intellectual disabilities, second edition (pp.3-23). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
McLaren, J. & Bryson, S. E. (1987). Review of recent epidemiological studies of mental retardation: Prevalence, associated disorders, and etiology. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 92(3), 243-254.
Appendix J: Letter to Ethics Board Dear ________
Study title: Investigating the factors that predict performance in athletes with intellectual disability
This project has now been completed. Please find below a summary of the study and findings.
Background: There is little literature that explains the relationship between
intellectual disability (ID) and physical and sensory disabilities. A review conducted in 1987 indicated increased prevalence of physical health problems amongst people with ID but no subsequent research has been conducted (McLaren & Bryson, 1987; Hatton, 2012). The current classification system used by the International Federation for Para Athletes with Intellectual Disability (INAS) does not take into account any relationship between ID and physical or sensory disabilities . The present study aimed to provide evidence to enable INAS to address the potential inequalities in the classification system and to add to understanding of the relationship between ID and physical and sensory disability.
What we did: Participants (N = 111) were recruited from INAS, Special Olympics and Inside Out sporting events for people with ID. IQ measurements were gained either from records or by administration of an assessment. All participants, with supporter, were administered a semi-structured health interview. Sports performance scores were also calculated for people who took part in swimming or athletics based on a comparison of their recent time in a competitive event with the world record holder for their gender. We also used group membership (INAS or regional) as a second measure of performance, assuming that INAS athletes would have higher levels of performance than athletes competing in regional events. This allowed us to look at the relationships between physical disability, IQ and performance using correlation and regression methods.
Results: Findings indicated a weak negative correlation between IQ and additional physical disability. The data also suggested that level of additional physical disability negatively predicts athletic performance. There was also some limited support for the suggestion that IQ positively predicts performance. We also found that INAS athletes generally have lower levels of disability and higher IQs than regional level athletes. Conclusion: This suggests that the current classification system utilised by INAS may discriminate against people with lower cognitive ability and higher levels of additional physical disability. In order to ensure that sport for people with ID acts as a platform for social inclusion it would seem helpful to reform this practice.
Kind Regards,
References
Hatton, C. (2012). Intellectual disability: Classification, epidemiology and causes. In E. Emerson, C. Hatton, K. Dickson, R. Gone, A. Caine & J. Bromley (Eds.), Clinical psychology and people with intellectual disabilities, second edition (pp.3-23). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.
McLaren, J. & Bryson, S. E. (1987). Review of recent epidemiological studies of mental retardation: Prevalence, associated disorders, and etiology. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 92(3), 243-254.
Appendix K: Author Guidance for Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly