The level of physical and social skills after completion of the training program for children aged 9-11

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine changes in physical and social indicators in participants of a table tennis training program lasting 10 months. Physical and social indicators were compared within two different research groups. Methods: Two research groups were created. The first one comprised beginners with intellectual disabilities and the reference group was created by non-disabled participants. Altogether 15 participants, aged 9-11, were included in each group. A pre-test was introduced at the beginning of the study and was followed by a post-test 10 months later. Physical parameters were evaluated with the help of individual skills tests designed for table tennis. The area of social indicators was determined according to the Scales for Assessing Coping Skills by Whelan and Speake (1979). Results: As far as physical indicators (e.g. individual skills used in table tennis) are concerned, individuals with intellectual disabilities improved by 24.5%. The improvement of non-disabled population reached 11%. Positive changes in social indicators, which include self-help socio-educational issues and interpersonal skills, were seen in individuals with intellectual disabilities - the improvement reached 7%; whereas the improvement in non-disabled participants was only 2%. The obtained results were evaluated separately for each group, due to the default level in pre-tests. Having compared the two groups we learnt that individuals with intellectual disabilities reached on average 63% of the non-disabled participants. Conclusions: The training programme has brought positive changes into the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities in all of the studied parameters, social and physical skills included. In accord with our comparative findings it has been recommended to reduce sport demands to the observed level. Also, a number, of methodological skills required for table tennis, has been modified in accordance with our findings. Based on the results a set of games and exercises customized to the needs of the intellectually disabled individuals has been created. Within the study, we also transformed The Scales for Assessing Coping Skills by Whelan and Speake (1979) from English into Czech language. The transformed scale was used in both groups. The results of this study demonstrated positive development of social indicators within all of the selected areas in the group of children with intellectual disabilities. The whole study has confirmed the importance of physical activity for children in younger school age.