Participation of adults with mental retardation in a video- and leader-directed aerobic dance program

The purpose was to compare two conditions (leader-plus-video, video-only) that involved different levels of support on facilitating engagement in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in adults with mental retardation (MR). Engagement was examined during 10-min aerobic dance sessions conducted 3 days per week over a 10-week experimental period followed by a 4-week maintenance period. The experimental design was single subject reversal (B-A-B-A). Participants were 17 adults (mean age = 42.6 years) with MR (5 females, 12 males) employed at a sheltered workshop. Visual analysis of graphed data revealed no meaningful difference between leader-plus-video and video-only conditions on MVPA engagement. Over 75% of the participants chose to attend each session over the 10-week experiment. Approximately 60% chose to attend during the 4-week maintenance period. Persons who attended, however, did not necessarily engage in MVPA.