The physical and psychosocial impact of a school‐based running programme for adolescents with disabilities.

Background: Adolescents with disabilities have fewer opportunities to participate in community‐based fitness programmes. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a school‐based running programme at a local middle school in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on fitness and quality of life (QoL) in children with physical and cognitive disabilities in a life‐skills classroom. Methods: Nineteen adolescents with diagnosed disabilities including intellectual disability (ID), autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome were recruited from three life‐skills classrooms to participate in a school‐based running programme. The programme was designed to be implemented two times/week for 6 weeks by classroom teachers/aides. Physical therapy faculty and students developed the programme and assisted with implementation. Each session lasted 30 min, consisting of a warm‐up and cooldown, relay races, games and timed runs. Pre‐ and post‐test measures included physiological cost index (PCI) and Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL™). Pre‐ and post‐test data were compared using Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Each week participants also completed a training log to reflect on the activity for the day. Results: Participants demonstrated significant improvements in PCI (P = 0.028) and the PedsQL™ (P = 0.008) following the running programme. Conclusions: Results of this study suggest that participation in a 6‐week school‐based running programme may improve fitness and QoL in adolescents with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]