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The effect of an adapted swimming program, on the aquatic readiness and the emotional satisfaction of children with ID and ASD (Master thesis)

Τσολάκη, Χριστίνα/ Tsolaki, Christina/ Δημιουργική και Προσαρμοσμένη Φυσική Αγωγή

Children with intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are participating more and more actively in exercise programs, with swimming being one of the most popular ways to improve motor and psychosocial skills for these children. The Program Sports for All, led under the central responsibility of the Ministry through the General Secretariat for Sport, in cooperation with Local Authorities, promotes the global effort to adopt this model of sport for citizens of all ages. However, research has not yet been conducted to investigate in general the effect of exercise on Sports for All environments for people with disabilities, even more so on adapted swimming programs of Sports for All settings regarding the improvement of functional parameters for children with ID and ASD. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of an adapted swimming program, within the context of Programs Sports for All, on the aquatic readiness and the emotional satisfaction of children with ID and ASD. The study involved 13 children of development age, 7 boys and 6 girls, with ID and ASD, who participated in an adapted swimming program for a duration of 10 weeks, with a frequency of 3 sessions per week, each session lasting 60 minutes. The HAAR and WOTA1 for aquatic readiness were used as measurement tools at the beginning and at the end of the program. As for emotional satisfaction, the SSI was used at the end of the program to reflect the children’s satisfaction. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference in aquatic readiness for both children with ID and ASD, while no statistically significant difference was observed regarding gender and age of the participants. The satisfaction of the children's participation was completely positive. In conclusion, an adapted swimming program brings significant improvement in aquatic readiness and emotional satisfaction for children with ΙD and ASD.