Improving holistic health outcomes for people with intellectual disability through cycling

Project Outline:

People with intellectual and cognitive impairments are often more sedentary, overweight, socially isolated, and report low levels of life satisfaction.

Cycling has been found to not only improve mental and physical health, but also to increase community connection and life satisfaction. Despite these reported benefits, people living with disability are still reported to participate in cycling in significantly lower numbers than the general population. This typically occurs as a consequence of externally imposed barriers to access, such as safety concerns and access to teaching and learning opportunities.

This project looks to remove these barriers by combining augmented reality technologies with new teaching methods for cycling and road safety skill acquisition. We hope that this work will not only afford people with an intellectual disability the opportunity to ride, but will allow the cyclists that take part to develop new life skills and find meaningful participation within the community.

Pedalling to success: virtual reality changes gears for people with an intellectual disability

UniSA exercise physiologist Dr Patrick Faulkner has brought his love for cycling into the disability space, utilising a sport which combines the physical, mental and social aspects which are often lacking to people with an intellectual disability.