Abstract
Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face particular difficulties that impact their opportunities to participate in regular physical activities. According to the recent literature, exercise seems to have numerous benefits for students with ASD such as improvements in fundamental motor skills, balance and in physical fitness generally. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of 6-months adapted aerobic program on motor performance, Body Mass Index (BMI) and cognitive abilities in three adolescent boys with ASD. The study included two phases: baseline and post test. Motor performance of participants with ASD was evaluated with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition and cognitive abilities were assessed with the Cognitive Assessment System. Participants were administered also anthropometric measures (weight, height, waist circumference). Results indicated that participation in the aerobic program can improve participants’ motor proficiency, body composition and cognitive abilities. Developing exercise intervention programs to improve motor proficiency, physical fitness and cognitive abilities of children and youth with ASD should be a priority by the community in order to increase their overall health-related physical fitness.
Highlights
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder typically characterized by deficits in socialization and communicative skills as well as restricted and repeated patterns of behavior (APA, 2013)
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of 6-months adapted aerobic program on motor performance, Body Mass Index (BMI) and cognitive abilities in three adolescent boys with ASD
Motor performance of participants with ASD was evaluated with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition and cognitive abilities were assessed with the Cognitive Assessment System
Summary
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder typically characterized by deficits in socialization and communicative skills as well as restricted and repeated patterns of behavior (APA, 2013). Recent evidence suggests that children with ASD experience motor coordination delays and deficits that contribute to atypical development of fundamental motor skills (Xavier, Gauthier, Cohen, Zahoui, Chetouani, Villa, Berthoz, & Anzalone, 2018). Motor deficits in children with ASD are characterized by difficulties in fundamental movement patterns, balance, postural stability, coordination deficits and Developmental Coordination Disorder (Ferreira, Toscano, Rodrigues, Furtado, Barros, Wanderley, & Moreira Carvalho, 2018). It is of major important to increase participation in physical activities among children and adults with ASD. Body Mass Index (BMI) constitutes the most common indicator to classify obesity on children and adults. BMI can be defined as the ratio of the weight (in kilograms) to the square of the height (in meters squared) (kg/m2)
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