Down sendromlu çocuklarda sportif etkinliklere katılma durumuna göre sosyal uyum ve beceri düzeyinin incelenmesi

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare social adaptation and skill levels of children with Down syndrome who participated in and did not participate in sportive activities. For the stated purpose; the research was done according to the causal comparison model. Down syndrome children in Turkey are the universe of the study and the sample of the study consisted of 86 children with Down' syndrome whose ages ranged between 8 and 12 (43 children: 21 males and 22 females) participating in sportive activities and 43 children (22 males and 21 females) not participating in sports activities. In order to measure social adaptation and skill level of children with Down syndrome, social adaptation and Skill Scale consisting of 3 items likert type, 59 items and 7 subscales (Impulsivity, Frustration Threshold, Attention and Mobility, Social Relationship, Emotional Situation, Need for Approval and Introversion) developed by Sezgin and Akman (2014) was used. Analysis of the data was done in the GNU PSPP 0.10.1 statistical package program. Differences between groups were determined by independent sample t-test. Significance was accepted as p <0.01. According to statistical analysis results; there was a significant difference in general social adjustment and skill levels among the children with Down's syndrome who participated in and did not participate in sports activities and in all sub-dimensions (p <0.01). This difference stems from the fact that children with Down syndrome participating in sports activities have better social adaptation and skills than children with Down syndrome who do not participate in sports activities. In terms of gender, there was also a significant difference between the general social adjustment and skill levels of the children with Down syndrome who participated in and did not participate in sports activities and among all the sub-dimensions (p <0.01). This difference stems from the fact that boys and girls with Down syndrome participating in sports activities have better social adaptation and skills than girls and boys with Down syndrome who do not participate in sports activities. As a result; it can be said that sportive activities can positively affect the social adaptation and skills of children with Down's syndrome regardless of gender. Key Words: Down Syndrome, Sports, Social Adaptation and Skill.