Breaking tradition: Increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary time of children with developmental disabilities

Background: Children with developmental disabilities (DD) are less active and more sedentary than their typically developing peers. There is a lack of research exploring strategies to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary time in children with DD.

Objective/hypothesis: The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time of children with DD attending a summer day camp in modified versus traditional physical activity sessions. It was hypothesized that youth with DD would spend a greater amount of time in MVPA and less time sedentary during modified compared to traditional activity sessions.

Methods: Fifty-two children (mean age 11.5 years, 84% male, 81% non-Hispanic white, 90% DD diagnosis) attending a specialized summer day camp participated in counterbalanced physical activity sessions for 8 weeks receiving either games/activities in their 'traditional' manner versus a modified approach. The modified approach incorporated a physical activity promotion strategy with a social narrative. Repeated measures mixed-effects regression models were used to estimate accelerometer-derived MVPA and sedentary time.

Results: Children increased the percent of time spent in MVPA and reduced sedentary time in 3 out of the 4 modified physical activities compared to traditional activity physical sessions across (p < 0.05). Modified soccer and kickball presented the highest increase in MVPA (5.9, 95%CI: 2.9, 8.8%) and reduction in sedentary time (-8.9, 95%CI: -13.9, -4.0%), respectively.

Conclusion: Modifying existing physical activities by combining a physical activity-promoting strategy with a social narrative is a promising approach to increase MVPA and reduce sedentary time in children with DD.