Work

The impact of a play-based early childhood development intervention on adaptive behavior skills for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Although early childhood development interventions have shown benefits in high-income countries, the benefits in low to middle-income countries, particularly for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), remain largely unexplored. This study examined the impact of Special Olympics Young Athletes on the adaptive behavior skills of 5261 children across Pakistan, Thailand, India, and Bangladesh. Multi-level modeling with repeated measures at baseline, 8, and 20 weeks was used to assess the impact of Young Athletes participation on adaptive behavior skills as measured by the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Compared to children in the control group, results indicated that children who participated in Young Athletes demonstrated greater gains over time in Communication, Daily Living, and Social and Relationship skills. Findings suggest that early childhood interventions hold promise for children with IDD in low- and middle-income countries and underscore the need to include children with or at risk for IDD in early childhood development programming.

Source: International Journal of Developmental Disabilities

DOI: 10.1080/20473869.2025.2590006

Authors: Ashlyn Smith, Rebecca Ralston, R. Michael Barker, Ellen Zambo Anderson, Dimitri A. Christakis

Institutions: Special Olympics, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Seattle Children's Research Institute

Language: English

Topic: Down syndrome and intellectual disability research

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities, Partnerships for the goals

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Institute for Health and Care Research, University of Southampton, IKEA Foundation