ABSTRACT
The purpose of the research was to conduct a quality indicator analysis of studies investigating peer-tutoring for students with a disability in adapted physical education. An electronic search was conducted among English journals published from 1960 to November 2012. Databases included ERIC, PsycINFO, and SPORTDiscus. Fifteen research studies employing group-experimental (Gersten et al., 2005) or single-subject designs (Horner et al., 2005) met inclusion criteria. Each study was assessed for the presence and clarity of quality indicators. Group designs met an average of 62.5% essential and 69% desirable indicators. An average of 80% of indicators was present for single-subject designs. Results suggest claims of peer-tutoring being an evidence-based practice are premature. Recommendations for clarifying and applying the quality indicators are offered.
Subject(s)
Evidence-Based Practice/standards , Peer Group , Physical Education and Training/methods , Physical Education and Training/standards , HumansABSTRACT
Professional practice guided by the best research evidence is a usually referred to as evidence-based practice. The aim of the present paper is to describe five fundamental beliefs of adapted physical activity practices that should be considered in an 8-step research model to create evidence-based research in adapted physical activity. The five beliefs are individualization, critical thinking, self-determination, program effectiveness, and multifactor complexity. The research model includes conceptualize the problem, conduct research on the process of the problem, conceptualize and specify the intervention, evaluate intervention outcomes, evaluate intervention processes, determine person-by-treatment interactions, determine context-dependent limitations, and investigate factors related to intervention adoption maintenance. The eight steps are explained with reference to two research programs that used a randomized control group design.
Subject(s)
Evidence-Based Medicine/standards , Guidelines as Topic , Health Promotion/organization & administration , Life Style , Motor Activity/physiology , Adaptation, Physiological , Female , Healthy People Programs , Humans , Male , Program Evaluation , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Research DesignABSTRACT
The evidence-based practice (EBP) movement has been extremely influential over the last 20 years. Fields like medicine, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nursing, psychology, and education have adopted the idea that policy makers and practitioners should use interventions that have demonstrated efficiency and effectiveness. This apparently straightforward idea is beginning to affect adapted physical activity; however, researchers and practitioners in our field often appear to be unaware of fundamental questions related to them. The major purpose of this paper is to outline and discuss 10 of these fundamental questions. This analysis leads us to conclude that EBP is a good direction to pursue in adapted physical activity if we develop a type of EBP congruent with the main tenets of our field.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Physiological , Evidence-Based Practice , Motor Activity/physiology , Disabled Persons , HumansABSTRACT
Individuals with autism often lack motivation to engage in sustained physical activity. Three adolescents with severe autism participated in a 16-week program and each regularly completed 30 min of cycling at the end of program. This study investigated the effect of a self-regulation instructional strategy on sustained cycling, which included self-monitoring, goal setting, and self-reinforcement. Of particular interest was the development of self-efficacy during the physical activity as a mediator of goal setting. A multiple baseline changing criterion design established the effectiveness of the intervention. The results suggest that self-regulation interventions can promote sustained participation in physical activity for adolescents with severe autism.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/rehabilitation , Bicycling , Self Efficacy , Adolescent , Child , Female , Goals , Humans , Male , Psychomotor Performance/physiologyABSTRACT
Delays and deficits may both contribute to atypical development of movement skills by children with ASD. Fundamental movement skills of 25 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ages 9-12 years) were compared to three typically developing groups using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The group matched on chronological age performed significantly better on the TGMD-2. Another comparison group matched on movement skill demonstrated children with ASD perform similarly to children approximately half their age. Comparisons to a third group matched on mental age equivalence revealed the movement skills of children with ASD are more impaired than would be expected given their cognitive level. Collectively, these results suggest the movement skills of children with ASD reflect deficits in addition to delays.
Subject(s)
Autistic Disorder/epidemiology , Motor Skills Disorders/epidemiology , Age Factors , Asperger Syndrome/diagnosis , Asperger Syndrome/epidemiology , Autistic Disorder/diagnosis , Child , Communication , Female , Humans , Male , Motor Skills Disorders/diagnosis , Severity of Illness Index , Social Behavior , Surveys and Questionnaires , Verbal BehaviorABSTRACT
Social interaction and development of friendships between children with and without a disability are often proposed as potential outcomes of inclusive education. Physical activity specialists assert that exercise and sport environments may be conducive to social and friendship outcomes. This study investigated friendship in inclusive physical education from the perspective of students with (n = 8) and without (n = 8) physical disabilities. All participants attended a reversely integrated school and were interviewed using a semistructured, open-ended format. An adapted version of Weiss, Smith, and Theeboom's (1996) interview guide exploring perceptions of peer relationships in the sport domain was used. Four conceptual categories emerged from the analysis: development of friendship, best friend, preferred physical activities and outcomes, and dealing with disability. The results demonstrated the key characteristics of best friends and the influential role they play.
Subject(s)
Disabled Persons , Education, Special , Friends , Interpersonal Relations , Physical Education and Training , Prejudice , Adolescent , Child , Female , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Male , TrustABSTRACT
Physical activity experiences of 12 age-matched boys with and without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were explored by converging information from Test of Gross Motor Development-2 assessments and semistructured interviews. The knowledge-based approach and the inhibitory model of executive functions, a combined theoretical lens, enabled the description of similarities and differences in experiences that emerged during interviews. Skill assessments indicated boys with ADHD were not as proficient movers as their peers without ADHD. Thematic analysis revealed that boys with ADHD reported playing with friends, paid little attention to detail, possessed superficial knowledge about movement skills, and expressed many negative feelings about physical activity. Task-specific interventions and a wider range of mixed methods research are recommended for future research studies in ADHD.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Motor Activity/physiology , Canada , Child , Child Behavior/psychology , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Male , Motor Skills/physiology , Play and PlaythingsABSTRACT
Sensori-motor development and performance of daily living skills (DLS) remain little explored in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The objective of this study was to determine the impact of sensori-motor skills on the performance of DLS in preschool children with ASD. Thirty-five children, 3-4 years of age, were recruited and assessed with a battery of diagnostic and clinical tests. Children showed atypical sensory responses, very poor motor and DLS. Sensory avoiding, an excessive reaction to sensory stimuli, and fine motor skills were highly correlated with DLS, even when cognitive performance was taken into account. Sensori-motor deficits have an impact on the autonomy of children with ASD and interventions should aim at improving and supporting the development of sensori-motor skills.
Subject(s)
Activities of Daily Living/psychology , Autistic Disorder/physiopathology , Autistic Disorder/psychology , Motor Skills , Perception , Sensation , Autistic Disorder/diagnosis , Child, Preschool , Cognition , Female , Humans , Language , Male , Neuropsychological Tests/statistics & numerical data , Psychomotor Performance , Statistics as TopicABSTRACT
In the last decade there has been an increase in empirical research on coaches of elite able-bodied athletes, while coaches of athletes with a disability have generally been overlooked. Thus, the purpose of the current study was to address this oversight by examining the career evolution and knowledge of these coaches. Six elite coaches of swimmers with a physical disability were interviewed using an unstructured, open-ended interview format. Results revealed information pertaining to the coaches' backgrounds, career evolution, and knowledge in training and competition. As well, all coaches stressed the importance of coaching their athletes as an elite swimmer as opposed to coaching a swimmer with a disability.
Subject(s)
Attitude , Career Mobility , Disabled Persons , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Swimming/education , Teaching , Canada , Data Collection , Humans , Physical Education and Training , Qualitative ResearchABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to compare the fundamental movement skills of 22 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), from 6 to 12 years of age, to gender- and age-matched peers without ADHD and assess the effects of stimulant medication on the movement skill performance of the children with ADHD. Repeated measures analyses revealed significant skill differences between children with and without ADHD (p Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/complications
, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/drug therapy
, Central Nervous System Stimulants/pharmacology
, Methylphenidate/pharmacology
, Psychomotor Disorders/etiology
, Case-Control Studies
, Child
, Female
, Humans
, Male
, Matched-Pair Analysis
, Motor Skills/drug effects
, Multivariate Analysis
, Psychomotor Disorders/prevention & control
ABSTRACT
Estimating the direction of arrival of sound in three-dimensional space is typically performed by generalized time-delay processing on a set of signals from a fixed array of omnidirectional microphones. This requires specialized multichannel A/D hardware, and careful arrangement of the microphones into an array. This work is motivated by the desire to instead only use standard two-channel audio A/D hardware and portable equipment. To estimate direction of arrival of persistent sound, the position of the microphones is made variable by mounting them on one or more computer-controlled pan-and-tilt units. In this paper, we describe the signal processing and control algorithm of a device with two omnidirectional microphones on a fixed baseline and two rotational degrees of freedom. Experimental results with real data are reported with both impulsive and speech sounds in an untreated, normally reverberant indoor environment.