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Children with Disabilities May Not Get Enough Exercise in School

  • October 07, 2016

In this day and age of raging rates of childhood obesity, a study done in Hong Kong found that children with disabilities are especially vulnerable when it comes to not getting enough exercise at school, Reuters reports. Children with severe intellectual disabilities had the least amount of physical exercise.

While I can’t speak to a school’s reasoning for ignoring handicapped children’s physical exercise, I can say that this report is sad because there are exercises that even those with limited mobility can do. Whether you’re a senior citizen who’s grown weak or a child who is wheelchair-bound with mobility problems, it’s important to keep moving to maintain strength and energy.

It's important to begin with exercises suited to your current level of fitness and physical ability. Regardless of your starting point, you CAN improve. A few things that those with limited mobility can do include seated aerobic and strength training, and flexibility exercises. If you’re not wheelchair-bound, you can consider low-impact exercises such as yoga and water workouts.

In a wheelchair, no matter what your age, you can do a few fun aerobics such as seated dancing and working out with rings and hula hoops, rotating your arms to make them spin. You can even do seated high intensity resistance training, as well as “air punching” with or without hand weights.

These exercises can help increase the strength in your upper body, particularly your shoulders. By strengthening your shoulders, you will improve your ability to perform most other arm movements. It can also help relieve shoulder pain.