Barriers to Physical Activity for Children and Youths With Visual Impairments

Introduction: Children and youths with visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision) participate in significantly fewer physical activities than their sighted peers. Research has also found that there are many consistent barriers to accessing physical activities for this population. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the barriers to physical activities for youths with visual impairments in the United States using the Physical Activity Barriers Questionnaire for Youth with Visual Impairment (PABQ-VI). Method: In this study, the PABQ-VI was utilized to assess the physical activity barriers of 66 youths with visual impairments (33 boys, 33 girls). Data were collected at four summer sports camps for youths with visual impairments. Results: The results indicated that environmental factors were more of a barrier than personal and social factors, and specific barriers within each subscale increased with the severity of visual impairment. Youths with visual impairments in rural environments had fewer social barriers to physical activity than youths in urban environments. Discussion: Children who are blind (B1 and B2; see the Participants section for a definition of these classifications) had significantly lower scores on environmental subscale items such as, “There are spaces at home that are safe for me to physical activity”; personal subscale items such as, “I believe I can do physical activity even though I have a visual impairment”; and social subscale items such as, “I know other children will do physical activity with me.” These findings illuminate the need for more support for physical activities at schools and in the communities of youths with visual impairments. Implications for Practitioners: Education on the abilities and needs of youths with visual impairments is essential for all teachers and practitioners. Further research should also be conducted examining youths with visual impairments in other settings, as well as with those who have additional disabilities, to more broadly understand the barriers to physical activities.