Sport Experiences for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectual Disabilities (ID)

Background: Youth with intellectual disabilities (ID) have lower sport participation rates than their typically developing peers (Westendorp et al., 2011) but little is known about patterns of sport participation in youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Grandisson and colleagues (2012) discuss a conceptual approach to understanding sport participation in individuals with ID using personal and environmental factors – an approach that is beneficial for assessing similar participation issues for those with ASD and ID.

Objectives: The present study aims to i) examine differences in positive sport experiences for youth with ASD and ID compared to youth with ID alone and ii) examine the relations among personal factors (adaptive behaviour, behaviour problems), environmental factors (available resources, coach relationship, parent support of sport), and positive sport experiences in youth with ASD.

Methods: As part of a larger study examining sport participation in youth with ID, parents of youth involved in Special Olympics (N=411) completed online questionnaires about personal and environmental factors, and sport experiences. Parents (81% mothers) were 34 to 67 years of age (M=49.39, SD=6.14) and children with ID (64% male) ranged in age from 11 to 23 years (M=17.20, SD=3.05), with 29% having a diagnosis of ASD. Parents reported on their support of sport and the child-coach relationship, as well as their child’s sport experiences (Teamwork & Social Skills subscale, YES 2.0; Hansen & Larson, 2005), adaptive behaviours (SCA; Mazurek et al., 2012; W-ADL; Maenner et al., 2012), behaviour problems (SDQ; Goodman, 1997), and resources (PEMCY; Coster et al., 2012).

Results: A two-way ANOVA (gender X ASD status) was used to investigate differences in quality of the sport experience between youth with ASD and ID compared to youth with ID alone. There was no main effect of gender and no significant interaction, however, there was a trend towards a main effect of ASD status, such that youth with ID alone (M = 2.76, SE = .10) had greater positive sport experiences compared to youth with ASD and ID (M = 2.36, SE = .19), F(1, 397) = 3.43, p = .07. Mediation analyses using the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2012) revealed significant pathways for personal and environmental factors. Specifically, sociocommunicative abilities, the quality of the coach relationship, and parent support of sport had significant indirect associations between ASD status and positive sport experiences.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that experiences may not be the same for all youth with ID involved in sport, such that youth with ASD and ID may have fewer positive sport experiences compared to youth with ID alone. Further, differences in personal and environmental factors may explain the relationship between ASD status and sport experiences. These findings suggest that additional supports may be required in sports for youth with ASD with social communication deficits or difficulties with support from their coach or parents. The present study contributes to our understanding of sport experiences in youth with ASD and ID, and may have implications for improving social supports in sport for all youth with ID.