Exercise opportunities limited for the mentally retarded

By Ira Dreyfuss
Associated Press Writer
June 11, 1999

Seth Schroeder used to exercise a lot – running, swimming, playing basketball and racquetball. No longer.

“The guys at the basketball court won’t let you in,” said Schroeder, 25, who has Down syndrome. “ They won’t let me play the game. “

The Davis, Calif. Man and others with mental retardation face extra barriers that keep them from getting exercise that doctors say they may need more than the non-disabled.

“Even in the quote, ‘normal’, population, you have an obesity problem, and you put that into a handicapped, mental retardation situation, and it is compounded, “ said Dr. Tom Nordstrom, a Bridgewater, N.J. orthopedic surgeon whose patients include those with cognitive disabilities.

For instance, Down’s Syndrome’s signs include poor muscle tone as well as the tendency to be overweight. And people with medical conditions that include mental retardation may have other physical problems that can be addressed with exercise. Down syndrome patients need more movement exercises to fight the arthritis to which they are prone, Nordstom said.

The most prominent organization supporting exercise among the mentally retarded, Special Olympics, concedes the need is far more than it can handle.

“We serve about 1.2 million athletes worldwide,” said Special Olympics spokeswoman Charlene Dittmar at the organizations Washington headquarters. “ There are an estimated 169 million people worldwide with mental retardation.”

Outreach is part of the problem for Special Olympics – making sure the retarded and their caregivers know about programs in their area, Dittmar said. Another is simply keeping the programs going – arranging for essentials such as funding and transportation.

This year, the program culminates in the Special Olympics Summer Games, which are expected to draw more than 7,000 athletes from 150 countries, in North Carolina on July 4.

However, although Special Olympics prides itself on working with all levels of disability, its focus is on sports-type activities like those found in the Olympics. Training is “obviously geared to a specific sport,” Dittmar said.

And training to compete in an event is a different goal than simply doing exercise to get or stay in shape, or to reduce the risk of disease. To do this, federal exercise guidelines call for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity such as brisk walks on most days of the week.

For many of the mentally retarded, regular exercise may only require someone to walk with them. But that person may be hard to find. Caregivers may not have the time and volunteers may be too few – if they are available at all.

Schroeder, for instance, did well when he had a volunteer from the University of California at Davis helping him, said Schroders mother, Jane Wyerman. When the student volunteer graduated and left, things began to fall apart, she said. “ He’s not in any formalized program right now as it relates to exercise, “ she said.

Exercise facilities don’t know how to deal with the retarded, Wyerman said. It’s not a tough job, but health club staffers, for instance, are not trained in this, she said. Mentally retarded exercisers need help in such things as making sure they don’t try to lift so much weight that they hurt themselves.

Exercise instructors may be reluctant to take this on, said Jamie Elliot, a Davis municipal employee who coordinates recreational activities for people with disabilities.

An aerobics instructor refused to take a 27 year old cognitively disabled woman into a class, Elliot said, because the woman pounded her feet and the instructor felt this could raise the risk of injury.

But the instructor offered no evidence of risk and refused to consider any adaptations that could reduce the foot pounding, she said.

And providing regular exercise opportunities could strain already strained programs for people with disabilities. “ My program is not focused on exercise activities, “ Elliot said. “ We are more recreationally – socially oriented. “

Paradoxically, retarded exercisers may be especially motivated to continue their workouts because they know it is good for their physical condition, said Bernard Stulberg, a Cleveland orthopedic surgeon.

“ I think the mentally compromised patient may be more responsive to doing this and maintaining and exercise regimen, “ Stulberg said. What’s more, these patients are more likely to stick with exercise as a habit, once it has been made a part of their lives, he said.

Exercise helped him, Schroeder said. “ It made me lose weight,” he said.

“ He was a trim, good looking Down Syndrome kid – and he still is, but he has put on considerable weight,” Wyerman said. It’s been a year and half since her son did regular exercise, although he still runs occasionally, she said. He also still likes sports, and would like to play basketball again, Wyerman said.

Besides, being active improved his mood, Wyerman said. “ Seth is a bit of a volatile personality, and if we can send him off to shoot baskets, it usually helps, “ she said.