How sport transforms the lives of people with intellectual disabilities

Sport not only has an impact on the physical health of people with intellectual disabilities but also plays a key role in all dimensions of quality of life, including emotional well-being, social relationships and self-esteem. That is the conclusion reached by a group of Catalan researchers, whose findings were recently published in the prestigious scientific journal Healthcare.

The study, entitled Quality of Life and Psychosocial Impact of Sport on People with Intellectual Disabilities: The Value of First-Person Discourse and published open access in the journal Healthcare, offers key insights into how sport can be understood not merely as a competitive activity, but as a tool for social empowerment and mental health.

In their own words: "Nothing about us without us"

The study analysed the accounts of 390 people taken from 24 scientific studies. This is also a distinctive feature of the research, as it gives people with intellectual disabilities a voice to speak in their own words, rather than having others speak for them. In this way, the study was able to assess the real impact of physical activity on these individuals.

The authors include Professor Jordi Planella, of the GREDU research group (affiliated with the UOC-FuturEd centre) and dean of the Faculty of Education, alongside researchers from Ramon Llull University.

A lack of opportunities and appropriate support: barriers to the pursuit of sport

The study shows that participation in sport among people with intellectual disabilities depends less on individual motivation than on access to adapted opportunities, appropriate support and the removal of environmental and social barriers.

The research concludes that the main barrier to participating in sport is not individual ability, but the availability of adapted opportunities and improvements in accessibility within the wider environment.

Related article

Martínez-Rivera, O.; Alonso-López, C.; Planella, J. Quality of Life and Psychosocial Impact of Sport on People with Intellectual Disabilities: The Value of First-Person Discourse. Healthcare 2026, 14, 3089. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14183089

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