Physical activity levels in children with developmental disabilities during school

Abstract

Current guidelines recommend that school-age children accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on most days of the week. However, little is known about the activity level of school-age children with developmental disabilities (DD): To evaluate physical activity behavior patterns of children with DD during 3 school settings: adapted physical activity (APE, 55 min), classroom (CR, 55 min), and recess (RC, 25 min). Participants were 14 youth (6 boys, 8 girls, 8.7+2.2 yrs) with DD. Heart rate (HR) was measured by telemetry (S410™ Heart Rate Monitor, POLAR®) during APE, CR, and RC on three different days, respectively. HRs were downloaded to a computer via SonicLink™. Resting HR (RHR) was measured on three days between 8 to 8:45 a.m. while the child was read to and rested on a beanbag. RHR was calculated as the mean of the 5 lowest HRs on the day that recorded the lowest RHRs (Logan et al., 2000). Time spent in MVPA was determined by the mean time spent (min) above 1.25 RHR (>1.25 x RHR) in the three school settings (APE, CR, and RC). For these three settings, average time spent at MVPA was 84.2+23.2 min. Given that this only represents the morning session classes, these students were meeting and exceeding their recommended 60 minutes of MVPA during the school day.