Abstract

VELJKOVIć, Aleksandra Aleksić; STOJANOVIć, Marija  and  STOJILJKOVIć, Nenad. The effects of a manipulative skills intervention programme on the motor proficiency of adolescents with intellectual disabilities. S. Afr. j. educ. [online]. 2024, vol.44, n.1, pp.1-10. ISSN 2076-3433.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15700/saje.v44n1a2273.

With this study we aimed to investigate the impact of a 12-week manipulative skills exercise programme on the motor proficiency of young individuals with intellectual disabilities. A total of 32 learners diagnosed with mild intellectual disabilities, with an average age of 17.81 ± 1.44 years, were divided into 2 equal-sized groups: a control group and an experimental group engaged in a manipulative skills intervention programme. Motor proficiency was assessed using the short form of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency Second Edition (BOT™-2), while the participants' coordination level was evaluated using the Body Coordination composite of the BOT™-2. Results show that the manipulative skills intervention programme led to significant improvements in the experimental group's total motor proficiency score on the short form BOT™-2 (45.31 ± 12.01 vs. 37.12 ± 7.00, ANCOVA: F = 48.65, p = 0.00) as well as the Body Coordination composite (42.69 ± 11.31 vs. 39.84 ± 11.75, ANCOVA: F = 44.35, p = 0.00). These findings suggest that the experimental exercise programme had a positive effect on enhancing the motor proficiency of young individuals with mild intellectual disabilities.

Keywords : Bruininks-Oseretsky Test; intellectual disabilities; motor skills; physical education.

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