Physical activity of children with and without mental retardation in inclusive recess settings

The purpose of the study was to compare physical activity levels of childre n with and without mental retardation. Thirty-four children were assessed i n an inclusive recess setting and monitored for heart rate, activity counts and observational activity levels. Based on the data analysis, boys demons trated significantly higher values on all comparisons. Boys with mental ret ardation demonstrated higher activity counts and heart rates than boys with out mental retardation while no group differences were apparent on the obse rvational checklist. It was concluded that an inclusive, non-structures rec ess setting appears to encourage and facilitate physical activity for child ren with mental retardation.