The Influence of Participation in a Disability Sport Program on Physical Fitness Components, Exercise Self-Efficacy and Social Competence of Youth with Visual Impairments

The purpose of this research was to assess the effectivity of a Paralympic youth sport program regarding the physical and psychosocial functioning of youth with visual impairment (VI). The program was designed and implemented by the Israeli Sport Federation for the Disabled with the intention toof enhanceing the exercise and sport participation of youth with disabilities throughout the country. The majority of the program’s participants chose Judo and Goalball as their sport discipline. Forty youth participants with VI, who were engaged in these sport disciplines were followed, completing tests and questionnaires at the beginning and the end of a three-month period. Physical fitness tests included stork stance, the four-step- test, the push-up test and the sit-up test. Psychosocial questionnaires included the social competence sub-scale of Schalock`s Quality of Life Questionnaire. Participants were divided into two practice groups, presenting novice and experienced exercisers, and two age groups presenting children and adolescents, which were compared at the onset and end of the evaluation period. Findings exhibited some minor differences between and within groups across variables. Several reasons have been proposed for the lack of significant results, including lack of consistency and volume in exercise participation, lacking in most cases the recommended volumes. In addition, Ttraining content differed among coaches. Finally, it appears that the three-month period at a moderate training intensity might not be enough for achieving major differences.