Development of a survey measuring parental physical activity support in parents of children with disabilities

Parental physical activity support for parents of children with disabilities in Saudi Arabia

Physical activity (PA) is crucial for promoting physical, cognitive, and psychosocial health. Unfortunately, children with disabilities spend less time engaging in PA compared to their typically developing peers. Parents play a crucial role in supporting children with disabilities to increase their level of PA. However, there is scant research on the factors linked to parental support for PA among non-Western parents of children with disabilities, particularly in the context of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, to address this gap in the literature, the current study aimed to (i) measure parental support for encouraging PA in children with disabilities in Saudi Arabia, and (ii) examine the demographic factors associated with such support (e.g., family income, age of the child, type of disability, and parents' educational background). The sample included Saudi Arabian parents of children with disabilities (N = 239; fathers: n = 123; mothers: n = 116) who completed the Arabic version of the Parental Physical Activity Support Questionnaire for Parents of Children with Disabilities (PPSQ for PCD). The findings revealed that parental support for children with disabilities to engage in PA typically occurs less than once a week, indicating an inadequate level of support. A generalized linear model analysis demonstrated that several independent demographic variables are associated with overall parental support for PA among children with disabilities: participant age, educational background, parental engagement in PA, age of the child with a disability, disability status, club participation, knowledge of legislation or policies related to the rights of children with disabilities, and number of children in the family. The findings emphasize the significance of raising awareness among parents of children with disabilities to support their children in participating in PA, as well as addressing the barriers that hinder such support.

"Sports for All"-An Evaluation of a Community Based Physical Activity Program on the Access to Mainstream Sport for Children with Intellectual Disability

Access to club sports is still not a given for children with ID. Parents and children report numerous structural and social barriers to accessing mainstream sports. Sports clubs, on the other hand, want to include this group of people, but often do not know how to do it. Using a community-based approach, children with intellectual disabilities (8-15 years) and their parents were given the opportunity to participate in an 8-week sports program in four mainstream clubs organized by a self-help organization for people with intellectual disabilities. Focus groups were conducted with all participants (parents, children, and club representatives) before and after the program and evaluated by means of a thematic analysis. The children rated participation very positively and only very occasionally reported that they had been excluded. The parents confirmed this experience, but were nevertheless more critical in their assessment. Outside the research context of this study, the sports clubs hardly provided good support, which can also be deduced from previous negative experiences of the parents. The sports clubs themselves received valuable information about what their failings were: sufficiently available and qualified staff, better access to sports facilities, and a wider range of inclusive groups are needed. On the other hand, there was hardly any prejudice on the part of the non-disabled club members towards the new members with ID, which was evaluated extremely positively, albeit surprisingly, by the sports clubs.