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. 2022 Oct 20;8(10):e11165.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e11165. eCollection 2022 Oct.

The effect of a motor intervention programme for learners identified with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities

José Marco Manuel Fernandes  1 , Monique de Milander  1 , Elna van der Merwe  1
Affiliations

The effect of a motor intervention programme for learners identified with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities

José Marco Manuel Fernandes et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Background: Intellectual disabilities (ID) cause problems in intellectual and adaptive functioning which negatively affect motor proficiency levels.

Aim: This study investigates the impact of a motor intervention programme on the motor proficiency levels of learners identified with moderate to severe ID.

Method: A quasi-experimental design was used to recruit participants which included 46 learners aged 15-17 years, identified with moderate to severe ID, selected from a South African special school. Participants were randomly divided into two groups. The 15 experimental learners received a 30-minute motor intervention programme, 3 times a week for a period of 6 weeks, whereas the 23 control learners continued with their normal physical education classes. Groups were assessed using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, second edition (BOT-2) Brief Form.

Results: The motor intervention programme significantly improved the total scores (p = 0.0380) and the overall motor proficiency levels (p = 0.0447) of the experimental group.

Conclusions: This study reveals evidence that a motor intervention programme can be used as an effective means to improve the motor proficiency levels of learners with moderate to severe ID.

Implications: A motor intervention should be implemented as soon as possible to enhance the motor proficiency levels of these learners.

Keywords: Bruininks-Oseretsky test of motor proficiency; Intellectual disabilities; Motor intervention programme; Motor proficiency levels; Second edition (BOT-2) brief form.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pre-test vs post-test results of the descriptive category between the experimental and control group according to the standard score and percentile rank achieved on the BOT-2 Brief Form. WAA = Well-Above Average AA = Above Average A = Average BA = Below Average WBA = Well-Below Average p = Probability, <0.05.
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