The Effects of 12 Weeks of Playing Boccia on the Social Development of Children with Cerebral Palsy and Intellectual Disability

The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of 12 weeks playing Boccia on the social development of children with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability.
In this semi-experimental study, 22 children with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability (13 boys, 9 girls; mean age 15.16 ± 2.13 years) randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group was played in12 weeks Boccia (2 sessions per week, each session lasting 45 minutes). The control group continued with their usual activities. Weiland social development test was taken before and after twelve weeks and data were analyzed with ANCOVA (α≤0.05).
Self-help general, self-help eating, verbal communication, socialization, and locomotion were significantly increased in the experimental group (P0.05). However, self-help dressing and occupation effect size was large and self-direction effect size was average.
The findings suggest that playing Boccia can improve social development of children with cerebral palsy and intellectual disability.