Inclusive basketball training for players with intellectual disability

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Disability Studies
• Adapted Physical Education

Background:

• Intellectual disability (ID) presents unique challenges in skill acquisition.
• Sport participation offers significant benefits for individuals with ID.
• Understanding the impact of different training modalities is crucial for optimizing athletic development in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess sport-specific basketball skill improvements in adults with intellectual disability.
• To compare the effectiveness of integrated versus non-integrated basketball practice over 8 months.
• To examine the relationship between skill development, competitive level, and the degree of intellectual disability.

Main Methods:

• A pre-test/training/post-test design was employed.
• Forty-one adult male athletes with intellectual disability were randomly assigned to Integrated or Non-integrated Basketball groups.
• Basketball skills (ball handling, passing, receiving, shooting) were assessed across four difficulty levels.

Main Results:

• Both integrated and non-integrated basketball training led to significant improvements in all assessed basketball skills.
• Athletes in the Integrated Basketball group demonstrated significantly greater improvements than those in the Non-integrated group.
• Higher levels of basketball skill were associated with lower degrees of intellectual disability.

Conclusions:

• Eight months of basketball training, whether integrated or non-integrated, significantly enhances basketball skills in athletes with intellectual disability.
• Integrated basketball training resulted in superior skill gains compared to non-integrated training.
• The degree of intellectual disability is a significant factor influencing basketball skill acquisition.