Examination of the Selected Physical and Motoric Characteristics of Students with Special Needs in Turkish Schools Aged 7–14

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to examine the selected physical and motoric characteristics of students with mild intellectual disabilities. The total number of the participants was 119 (54 females and 65 males) and the mean age was 10.78 ± 1.88 years. Height, weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and body fat mass scores were collected to determine the physical characteristics. Handgrip strength, vertical jump, standing long jump, flexibility, and 20 m speed running tests were performed to determine the motoric characteristics. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 22 package program. Descriptive statistical methods were used in the evaluation of the data. The male students performed better than the female students in all motor performance tests except the flexibility test. The older students performed better, as in the previous studies. Most of the students in the study were found to have a low or normal body mass index. However, according to the literature, children with special needs tend to be overweight and obese due to sedentary lifestyle. One reason for this difference might be a small sample size. Other reasons could be different socio-economic backgrounds and different extracurricular physical activity habits.