The effect of badminton based physical activity program on badminton basic skills in mentally disabled individuals

Introduction and Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a badminton-based physical activity program on the basic skills of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Materials and Methods: In this study, which was conducted using the "one-group pretest-posttest model", 8 students receiving inclusive education participated. In the study, badminton basic skills observation form was used to examine the change in the dependent variable. In the process of preparing the badminton basic skills observation form, the steps in the Special Olympics badminton basic skills were utilized. In the analysis of the data, paired samples t test (dependent groups t test) used in intragroup (pre-test-post-test) comparisons was applied. All analyses in the study were performed with SPSS 25.0 program and variables were analyzed at 95% confidence level. Results: It was determined that the badminton-based physical activity program applied in the study caused a significant improvement in the basic skills specific to badminton. Conclusion: As a result of the study, it was determined that the badminton-based physical activity program applied to inclusive students caused a significant improvement in their basic skills specific to badminton. In addition, as a result of the interviews with the teachers of the participants before and after the interventions, concepts such as social development, mobility, visible improvement in badminton basic skills and increased interest in school came to the fore.