Graduate Student Research Symposium 2026

This study examined changes in children’s quality of life (QL), based on parent perceptions, following participation in a 10-week inclusive, community-based after-school physical activity program for children with and without disabilities. A pre–post design included 50 children aged 2–10 years (M = 5.4 ± 2.37), with 13 children with disabilities and 37 without. Parents completed demographic questions and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL 4.0) before and after the program. Paired-sample t-tests and repeated-measures ANOVA were used to analyze changes in physical, emotional, social, and school functioning domains. Results showed significant improvements in psychosocial, emotional, social, and school domains. Changes in total QL scores approached significance, while physical domain scores showed no significant change. No significant interaction effects were found between disability status and changes in QL scores. Findings suggest inclusive physical activity programs may improve parents’ perceived psychosocial quality of life for children, particularly emotional well-being.