The change of parental mental health of "whole family" participation in adapted sport program for children with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

At the present day, person with intellectual disabilities today may take part in a variety of specially adapted sports programs. Although parents may join with their children in sport programs, the benefits these parents experience are not well understood. This study evaluated the mental health status, pre- to post-participation, of parents who joined a sport program (comprised of seven sessions) adapted for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. Nine parental participants were recruited. Except for the final session, each six sessions included a warm-up exercise, three kinds of table tennis training periods, a cool-down exercise, evaluation meeting, and rest breaks between divisions of the session. The three kinds of table tennis training periods brought together (a) children with parents; (b) children with coaches; and (c) parents with parents, respectively. The parents were rated before and after the whole program by a depression-anxiety score, measured in accordance with the Stress Response Scale (SRS-18; Suzuki et al., 1997). This study did not detect potential benefits of mental health, from this adapted sport program, for the parents who took part.