"It's so fun!", exploring the organized sport experiences of adolescents with Down syndrome and their parents

Abstract

Down syndrome(trisomy21) is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability. Individuals with Down syndrome present with a variety of structural and functional deficits, including those to the musculoskeletal, nervous, and cardiovascular systems, which require physiotherapy attention. As individuals with Down syndrome reach developmental milestones, there is a tendency to ‘ageout’ from the rehabilitative department. Regular participation in physical activity and organized sports provides various benefits to an individual with Down syndrome to remain active. Previous literature on organized sports has mainly focused on activity, participation, quality of life, and facilitators and barriers to participation for people with neurological disabilities and intellectual disabilities. However, the perspectives specifically of adolescents with Down syndrome, especially in a northeastern context, are absent in the literature. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of adolescents with Down syndrome and their parents on team or individual organized sports participation in Northeastern Ontario. Criterion-based snowball sampling was used to recruit families and their adolescents with Down syndrome. Four interviews were conducted(2adolescent,2parent) using a semi structured interview guide developed based on “F-words for childhood disability”(i. e. Fitness, Function, Family, Fun, Friendship and Future) framework. Reflexive thematic analysis using an inductive coding approach was conducted. Themes constructed from the parents were ‘participatory benefits of organized sport’ and ‘contextual factors of sport participation’, while themes constructed from the adolescents with Down syndrome were ‘developing positive emotions through organized sports’ and ‘growing passion for sports through organized sports participation. The findings of this study suggest organized sports participation should be considered as a fun, complementary rehabilitative modality for adolescents with Down syndrome that could improve their health and well-being. It is recommended for health care professionals to work towards promoting opportunities for long-term participation in organized sports for adolescents with Down syndrome.