Perceptions of Barriers, Facilitators, and Outcomes of Aerobic Exercise in Community Fitness Facilities by Adults With Intellectual Disability.
Iva Obrusnikova, Ashley M Steinbrecher, Albert R Cavalier and 2 others
PMID 40731201WHAT IT FOUND
Most adults with intellectual disability in gyms reported skill and physical barriers to treadmill walking and bike pedalling, but all identified facilitators.
Perceived benefits correlated with better performance, yet perceived facilitators unexpectedly linked to more sitting and worse post-training results.
Key findings
01Barriers were more frequently cited for bike pedalling than treadmill walking, with skill and practice issues being the most common for biking.
02Perceived benefits of bike pedalling were significantly positively correlated with six-minute walk test distances and exercise task performance.
03Participants who cited more treadmill-walking facilitators reported greater sitting time and demonstrated lower posttest performance in both walking and biking.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (n=20) and excluded individuals with severe intellectual disability or those using mobility aids, limiting generalisability. Recruitment during the pandemic may have reduced racial and ethnic diversity. Physical activity levels were self-reported via questionnaire, which can overestimate activity due to recall bias. The study design was observational and correlational; it cannot prove that perceived barriers or facilitators caused the performance differences. Self-efficacy was not directly measured, despite being a central theoretical construct.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the correlation between perceived facilitators and lower performance as evidence that supports are harmful. The study design cannot prove causation, and this unexpected finding may reflect that participants who struggled more relied more heavily on external supports.