Use Of Physical Activity Wearables With Special Olympics Junior Athletes With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities

PURPOSE: Youth and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face challenges in achieving recommended physical activity levels, making it essential to identify accessible tools for monitoring their activity. Wearable devices offer a promising, objective method for tracking daily activity and sedentary behavior. This project evaluated the feasibility and compliance of using wearable monitors to assess physical activity in junior athletes with IDD, offering insights into the practicality of integrating wearable technology into fitness assessments. METHODS: Special Olympics (SO) coaches (n = 8) from Ohio and Colorado disseminated Charge 6 Fitbits and setup instructions to athletes during sports practice. Athletes, with caregiver support, set up the device and confirmed data sharing with SO. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze wear compliance, daily physical activity, and sedentary time. Coaches provided qualitative feedback reported by athletes and caregivers on the feasibility of wearables during debriefing interviews. RESULTS: Seventy-one athletes participated in the study with 65 consenting to data sharing. Of those, 29 athletes (male 68%, age range 8-20 years), successfully synced their device and recorded two weeks of data. Athletes wore the device for an average of 12.3 days (SD = 7.4), with an average daily wear time of 16.8 hours (SD = 7.64), yielding 88.2% compliance rate. On average, athletes achieved 36.4 minutes/day (SD = 54.3) of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and 8.3 hours/day of sedentary time (SD = 6.3). Coaches expressed the need for additional support in setting up the device, challenges with charging and syncing, resistance among some athletes with sensory issues, and potential benefits of incentivizing device use. CONCLUSIONS: SO fitness programming will continue to provide opportunities for junior athletes to be physically active. Assessing increased uptake in activity can determine the effectiveness of these programs. Wearable technology shows potential for monitoring physical activity, but additional technical assistance and adaptation is needed to support junior athletes with IDD. Supported by: NU27DD000021 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services