Facilitators and Barriers to Physical Activity Involvement As Described by Autistic Youth with Mild Intellectual Disability

Objectives: Physical activity involvement among autistic youth and youth with an intellectual disability is significantly lower than the general population. Few studies have included youth with comorbid diagnoses of ASD and intellectual disability. Fewer studies collect information from the youth themselves. This study examined barriers and facilitators to physical activity in autistic youth with mild intellectual disability using semi-structured interviews with youth and through caregiver reports.

Methods: Fourteen caregivers and their children ages 8 to 16 years old participated. Caregivers completed a questionnaire about their thoughts on their child's physical activity while their children completed the semi-structured interview. A descriptive phenomenological approach was followed.

Results: Four themes were inductively identified: intrapersonal barriers (factors that are within the person which impede physical activity involvement, such as exhibiting challenging behaviors that inhibit engagement), interpersonal barriers (factors external to the person, such as lack of community support), intrapersonal facilitators (factors within the person that enhance physical activity involvement, such as being intrinsically motivated to improve skills), and interpersonal facilitators (external factors such as supports from caregivers).

Conclusions: Interviewing youth is important to capture a holistic picture of factors influencing physical activity. Future research may focus on implementing and assessing the efficacy of strategies to address the barriers facing youth diagnosed with ASD and intellectual disability.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41252-022-00310-5.