Benefits of sport

Sport can play a positive role in the lives of people with disability. ^{2, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23}

For the most benefits, participants experiences need to be, satisfying and enjoyable, with outcomes that individuals feel are important for them. ^{20, 24, 25, 26, 27}

Most frequently, sport and physical activity are cited as positive vehicles for improved:

• Cognitive functioning (e.g. working memory, inhibitory control) ^{13, 28}
• Social and communication skills ^{29, 30}
• Mental wellbeing (e.g., improved quality of life, reduced stress, depression, etc.) ^{6, 7, 13, 17, 21, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39}
• Opportunities for community engagement, independence, and making or spending time with friends. ^{4, 6, 16, 17, 31, 32, 33, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46}
• Physical wellbeing (fitness, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal health). ^{1, 3, 6, 13, 16, 21, 32, 35, 39, 43, 44, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51}
• Social engagement and inclusion (fun, enjoyment) ^{29, 31, 32, 35, 40, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58}
• Self-confidence, and self-efficacy ^{31, 32, 46, 59, 60, 61, 62}
• Technical and motor skills ^{17, 19, 30, 42, 48, 58, 63, 64, 65}

Sport can also play a role in increasing understanding of and support for people with different abilities and decreasing negative stereotypes. ^{16, 42, 46, 53, 57, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70}

The United Nations (UN), World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international organisations acknowledge and promote the role sport programs and events can have to empower individuals with disability, promote social inclusion, and address social inequities. ^{12, 71}

• A 2023 study of an inclusive program between Special Olympics (SO) and academy football (soccer) players in the United Kingdom found that SO players developed friendships and improved football skills, whereas academy players cited the positive impact that SO players had on their mood and motivation. ⁴²
• A 2021 evaluation of the impact of Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools, and especially the Unified Sports program, demonstrated improvements in students’ social-emotional skills as well as positive effects on interactions between students with and without intellectual disability (e.g. a greater awareness of social inclusion, more students proactively helping others, and reductions in bullying, teasing, and offensive language). ^{52, 72}

While many positive examples suggest that sport can have significant benefits for people with disability, both directly and through changing perceptions it is also important to understand that these benefits do not happen automatically, and sport can also have negative impacts:

• How the media and others in the community frame and discuss participants can also perpetuate stereotypes. For example, by portraying athletes with disabilities as superhuman, or disability as a tragedy that must be overcome. ^{12, 27}
• Legacy programs for major sporting events, often aim to increase the physical and social accessibility of facilities and venues, but these changes may only benefit a small proportion of people, and generally do not address systemic barriers to social engagement for people with disability. ^{12, 73}

Critical consideration and ongoing planning and effort are required to ensure that sport has a positive impact on people with disability individually, as a community, and by helping to create a more inclusive society for everyone. ^{12, 74}

Participating in sport can help to reduce the risk of developing a range of non-communicable diseases and illness as well as improving physical, mental and social wellbeing. ^{1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 16, 77}

Guidelines for physical activity and sport for people with disability generally emphasise that the benefits outweigh the risks, and that there are no major risks for participating in activities that are appropriately based on individual activity levels, health, and physical function. ⁴

While acknowledging the strengths, resilience, and impact of people with disability, for many reasons, individuals may also have lower levels of physical fitness and overall quality of life compared with the broader population. ^{1, 4, 12, 32,75, 76}

Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 'People with Disability in Australia' report shows that: ⁷⁵

• Only 31% of adults with disability rate their health as excellent or very good, compared to 68% of those without disability.
• Around a third (32%) of adults with disability rate their health as fair or poor, compared to only 5% without disability.
• 33% of adults with disability experience a high or very high level of psychological distress (12% without disability).
• 19% of people with disability between the ages of 15 and 64 experience social isolation (around 1 in 5), compared to 9% of people without disability.
• 74% of people aged 18 years and over with disability do not do enough physical activity, this is similar to those without disability (71%). However, there are significant differences for people with different types of disability.
  • 86% of people with severe or profound disability do not do enough physical activity compared to those with other disability status (73%).
  • 84% of those with psychosocial and 82% of those with intellectual disability compared to 77% with a physical restriction and 70% of those with a sensory or speech disability. others with disability.

Sport, particularly team-based or activities done in groups, can lead to improved social and mental wellbeing, including reduced stress and improved perceptions of quality of life. ^{4, 37, 85}

• A 2023 survey for the Activity Alliance in the United Kingdom (UK) found that individuals with disability were more likely to feel lonely (23% always or often lonely compared to 8% of those without disability) and less likely to feel satisfied with their life (5% compared to 17%).
  • However, 65% of people with disability who felt lonely, agreed that being active could help them feel less lonely. ⁷⁸
• A study by the Special Olympics Global Center for Inclusion in Education in 2023 highlighted that people with intellectual disability had higher rates of mental health conditions (e.g. depression), compared to those without intellectual disability.
  • The study also found that participation in Special Olympics helped participant’s mental health, with benefits including meaningful physical activity participation, feeling stronger and sleeping better, increased self-efficacy, self-worth and social connection, and building supportive relationships. ³²
• A 2019 study of competitive swimmers with disability (physical or intellectual) found that their psychological and emotional well-being were 40% higher than individuals who did not participate in competitive swimming. While these results are promising, the authors highlighted that further research is required to determine if the benefits were caused by individuals participating in competitive swimming, rather than simply being a correlation, i.e. that individuals with existing high self-worth might be more likely to start participating in sport. ⁷⁹

While more research is required, current evidence suggests that sport participation can be an effective way to improve the health and wellbeing of people with disabilities with substantial benefits for all.  ³³

Attaining higher levels of education generally improves employment opportunities and is associated with higher socio-economic and overall wellbeing. ^{75, 80, 81}

Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) ‘People with Disability in Australia’ report indicates that: ⁷⁵

• Around 1 in 10 school students aged 5-18 have disability, with the majority (89%) attending mainstream schools.
• People with disability are more likely to leave school at younger ages and to have a lower level of educational attainment.
• 53% of people aged 15-64 with disability were in the labour force, compared with 84% of those without disability.
• People aged 15-64 with disability were twice as likely to be unemployed (10%) as those without disability (4.6%).
• 10% of individuals aged 15-64 with disability who were employed, were underemployed (i.e. worked part time and wanted to, and could, work more) compared to 6.9% of those without disability.
• 88% of employed people aged 15-64 with disability did not require additional support from their employer to work.