Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of adapted recreational therapy program on gait patterns of children with autism. The current study included twenty-one autistic boys aged between 8 and 15 years. The scores of the children with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to the “Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-2-Turkish Version” (autism level) ranged between 62 and 123. The gait analyses of the participants were evaluated with the results of total distance, average velocity, average horizontal force and average vertical force before and after recreational therapy program. The recreational therapy program was performed throughout 12 weeks, two sessions per a week and one hour per session as the one-to-one training format. The program covered several gross motor skills such as balance, toys ball, jump, jogging to increase cardiorespiratory endurance, and several branches of the basic sports skills such as basketball, badminton, and soccer. Pearson Correlation analysis was performed in order to determine the correlation between autism level and gait parameters. A negatively significant correlation was found between autism level and average velocity (r=-.553**, p
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a type of mental disorder that can be observed in a set of difficulties in mutual social communication and interaction, restricted and repeated behaviours, interests and activities (APA, 2013)
Motor skill can be one of the problems accompanying the diagnoses in children with ASD
Adapted physical activity is the name given to the programs individualized for special people by bringing together physical and motor compliance, fundamental motor skills and routines (Winnick, 2005)
Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a type of mental disorder that can be observed in a set of difficulties in mutual social communication and interaction, restricted and repeated behaviours, interests and activities (APA, 2013). ASD can reveal itself with symptoms such as starting a conversation to satisfy urgent needs only, attention deficit, not sharing success or happiness, inadequate or restricted use of gestures, deficiencies in social interest or behaviours. Another developmental problem seen in ASD is the repeated behaviours and restricted interests. Individuals with this disorder may have issues such as intensive repetitive behaviour patterns, adaptation to the changing environment or circumstances, overdependence on objects or people and maintaining order (National Autism Center, 2015; Schreibman, 2007)
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