Participation in sports and physical activity for youth athletes with intellectual disabilities can be challenging for parents and children due to lack of awareness of such opportunities in addition to numerous barriers to participation. Intellectual disabilities impact one's intellectual function and ability to adapt, posing unique challenges to sports participation for pediatric sports medicine clinicians to be aware of when promoting participation in sports. Through appropriate education of coaches/instructors and parents, youth athletes with intellectual disabilities can safely participate in sports based on their functional status and disability. Pediatric sports medicine is an emerging field for youth athletes with intellectual disabilities. There is little known about sports-related injury patterns in this population, but there are certain important considerations to keep in mind for preparticipation physical examinations in this population. This chapter provides a comprehensive review of specific considerations for the promotion of sports participation in youth athletes with intellectual disabilities.
Elsevier, The Youth Athlete: A Practitioner's Guide to Providing Comprehensive Sports Medicine Care, Volume , 1 January 2023
