Exercise is a major part of many people’s lives whether it be playing a sport, going to the gym (or doing a home workout), or as simple as going for a walk. People turn to exercise not only for keeping their bodies healthy and to stay in shape but also for mental health and stress relief. For people with disabilities, exercise can be a huge benefit across these domains: physical functioning, cognition and affect/emotion, and social skills.
Adaptive Fitness
I believe that any physical activity can be transformed into an adaptive activity with some creativity and dedication. Adaptive fitness can be defined as physical training or exercise that has been adapted to fit and/or accommodate the specific goals and needs of a person with a disability. Following a strengths-based approach, it is important to note that the adapted activity should not be viewed as working around someone’s disability but instead using the person’s strengths to come up with the best ways for them to participate in the activity. This could be something like switching to a handcycle bike instead of a standard bike, adding supports to either side of someone’s kayak seat, or using specially designed workout equipment for wheelchair users.
Physical Functioning
For many people with disabilities, physical functioning is a priority in maintaining or improving their health. Some disabilities have common physical aspects about them that may present as decreased muscle strength, poor balance, low endurance, and/or lack of flexibility. Increasing physical activity in any way will combat these problems just as you would expect. For example, if an individual were to join a competitive volleyball team, it would be likely that their lower body strength, shoulder and tricep strength, and endurance would increase. These benefits come from repetitive movements of the sport that utilize those muscle groups. Endurance would increase with the athlete’s skill level, as more advanced athletes can keep the ball moving for longer periods of time. A study by Delaney, Crandell, & Barfield (2014) found over 60% improvement in muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and more after participation in sport-based TR program.
Cognition and Affect/Emotion
People with disabilities may experience times where they compare themselves to others who do not have disabilities. This is something that can be very difficult to deal with internally and can cause other problems within their social life such as interaction with others. It can also be detrimental to their self-esteem, motivation, and self-image. Participating in adaptive sport or fitness, particularly in groups, will allow the individual to be with others who they identify more closely with. In Mowery, Townsend, and Hawkins’ brief study (2017), individuals with disabilities who were interviewed about their experiences with adaptive sports said that they gained motivation from seeing other athletes with disabilities. A quote from one of the interviewers said that in seeing others with disabilities “who have it worse off than them, and if they can do it, I can do it too or should be able to push myself like that.” This kind of motivation is more empowering because it is coming from within and it is not looking down on their disability, but rather looking at all the things that they can do.
Social
Competitive sports are a great way to increase anyone’s social competence and skills. For people with disabilities, it is a wonderful opportunity to get to know others who also have disabilities and to form a community. Having a strong and supportive community will greatly benefit someone who has a disability because they will have a base of others who they feel they can relate to. Having a community that loves the same sports or exercises as you do will make the community that much stronger and the support system that much bigger. An exclusive, supportive, and encouraging community of athletes with disabilities, such as the Working Wounded Games¹ (WWG), Special Olympics², or the Invictus Games³, is wonderful environments to be in because of the shared common goal: to participate in a competitive sport together while lifting each other up.
¹ Working Wounded Games: The first CrossFit(TM) styled competitions that level the playing field for severely wounded veterans and permanently injured civilians. https://www.facebook.com/workingwoundedgames/
² Special Olympics: the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. https://www.specialolympics.org/
³ Invictus Games: The Invictus Games is an international adaptive multi-sport event, created by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans take part in nine sports including wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, and indoor rowing. https://invictusgamesfoundation.org/
References
Mowery, S. W., Townsend, J., & Hawkins, B. (2017). Exploring of the impacts of adaptive fitness for athletes with disability. Annual in Therapeutic Recreation, 24, 111
Delaney, B., Crandell, D., & Barfield, J. P. (2014). Sport-based therapeutic recreation: Perceived outcomes and implications for research. PALAESTRA, 28(3), 12-16.
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