Start Date
18-6-2025 12:30 PM
End Date
18-6-2025 2:00 PM
Abstract
Self-advocacy refers to the ability of an individual to efficiently understand and express their rights and needs (Holzberg et al., 2019). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a targeted self-advocacy program on children with visual impairments. The Physical Activity Self-Advocacy Inventory for Adolescents with and without Disabilities was used. The intervention occurred within two week long overnight sports camps for children and youth with visual impairments. A systematic self-advocacy intervention was implemented throughout the week by self-advocacy experts. The participants were given the PASAI before and after the camp to assess their perceived competence related to self-advocacy. These data were vetted against a control group of children and youth with visual impairments with no self-advocacy program attending similar camps. Self-advocacy skills were not statistically significantly different in the control group (39.60 ± 7.86) compared to the intervention group (41.00 ± 6.94) at the beginning (pre-) of the trials, F(1, 61) = .35, p = .557, partial η2 = .006, a difference of 1.40 points. Self-advocacy skills were then statistically significantly different in the control group (37.62 ± 9.39) compared to the intervention group (43.04 ± 7.66) at the end (post-) of the program, F(1, 11) = 6.65, p = .012, partial η2 = .097, a difference of 5.42 points. Sex was not a significant main effect F(1, 61) = .810, p = .372, partial η2 = .013 between groups. A self-advocacy intervention can improve the perceived competence of self-advocacy for youth with visual impairments.
Recommended Citation
Lieberman, Lauren j.; Childs, Ruth; Brian, Ali; and Beach, Pamela, "The Impact of a Self-Advocacy Physical Activity Training Program in Children with Visual Impairment" (2025). International Symposium of Adapted Physical Activity and International Symposium on Physical Activity and Visual Impairment and Deafblindness. 24.
https://sword.cit.ie/isapa/2025/day3/24
The Impact of a Self-Advocacy Physical Activity Training Program in Children with Visual Impairment
Self-advocacy refers to the ability of an individual to efficiently understand and express their rights and needs (Holzberg et al., 2019). Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a targeted self-advocacy program on children with visual impairments. The Physical Activity Self-Advocacy Inventory for Adolescents with and without Disabilities was used. The intervention occurred within two week long overnight sports camps for children and youth with visual impairments. A systematic self-advocacy intervention was implemented throughout the week by self-advocacy experts. The participants were given the PASAI before and after the camp to assess their perceived competence related to self-advocacy. These data were vetted against a control group of children and youth with visual impairments with no self-advocacy program attending similar camps. Self-advocacy skills were not statistically significantly different in the control group (39.60 ± 7.86) compared to the intervention group (41.00 ± 6.94) at the beginning (pre-) of the trials, F(1, 61) = .35, p = .557, partial η2 = .006, a difference of 1.40 points. Self-advocacy skills were then statistically significantly different in the control group (37.62 ± 9.39) compared to the intervention group (43.04 ± 7.66) at the end (post-) of the program, F(1, 11) = 6.65, p = .012, partial η2 = .097, a difference of 5.42 points. Sex was not a significant main effect F(1, 61) = .810, p = .372, partial η2 = .013 between groups. A self-advocacy intervention can improve the perceived competence of self-advocacy for youth with visual impairments.