Research On The Influence Of Adapted Physical Activity On Fundamental Movement Skills And Physical Activity In Children With Autism

Objective: Currently,the incidence of autism children is increasing year by year and is much higher than that of other special children,making the education and rehabilitation of autism children a global public health issue.Fundamental movement skills and physical activity are important throughout the developmental lifespan of an individual,and their level of development is important for their growth and development,social adjustment,and mental health and other related health promotion outcomes.Children with autism,however,have significantly lower levels of fundamental movement skills and physical activity than their able-bodied peers and experience greater delays as they age,placing a heavy burden on individual,family,and social development.Numerous studies have shown that adapting physical activity has positive effects on children with autism in a variety of ways,but most studies have focused on the effects of core symptoms in children with autism,and there is a lack of research on fundamental movement skills and physical activity.Based on this,this study aimed to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of adapted physical activity on the fundamental movement skills and physical activity of children with autism.Methods: Twenty-five children with autism spectrum disorders aged 6-12 years were randomly divided into an experimental group(n=12)with a mean age of9.00±1.080 years and a control group(n=13)with a mean age of 9.23±0.599.The experimental group completed a 12-week Adapted Physical Activity intervention for35 min three times a week,while the control group performed crude oil routine in physical education program activities and maintaining the original habits.Test indicators: fundamental movement skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2(TGMD-2),and physical activity were measured using a triaxial accelerometer(Model: Acti Graph GT3X+).Data analysis: The Independent samples T-test was used to analyze whether there were differences between the indexes of the experimental and control groups at the baseline period,and 2’2 repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the within-group and between-group effects on the data before and after the intervention in the experimental and control groups.Results:(1)Independent samples t-test results showed that the differences between the experimental and control groups in each index of fundamental movement skills and each index of physical activity were not significant(P>0.05)in the pre-test.(2)The 2’2 repeated-measures ANOVA found that: on the total score of fundamental movement skills,the experimental group differed significantly(P<0.05)between the pre-and post-test and between the two groups at the post-test time point(P<0.05);on the score of locomotor skills,the experimental group differed significantly(P<0.05)between the pre-and post-test and between the two groups at the post-test time point(P<0.05).Among the specific movement indexes,the differences between the experimental group and the control group were significant(P<0.05)in the pre-test and post-test for the single-leg jump and the front straddle jump,and significant(P<0.05)in the post-test time point;the differences between the experimental group and the control group were not significant(P>0.05)in the object control skill scores.Among the specific action indicators,the differences between the experimental group and the control group were significant(P<0.05)in the two-handed catching action on the pre and post-test,and the differences between the two groups were significant(P<0.05)at the post-test time points,while the differences between the remaining indicators were not significant(P>0.05).(3)The 2’2 repeated measures ANOVA revealed that in the one-week physical activity index,the differences between the experimental group and the control group were significant(P<0.05)in the pre-and post-measurement of static physical activity time,and the differences between the two groups were significant(P<0.05)at the post-measurement time point;in addition,the differences between the experimental group and the control group were not significant(P>0.05)in the pre-and post-measurement of high-intensity and moderate-intensity physical activity time,and the differences between the two groups were not significant(P>0.05)at the postmeasurement time point.On the post-test time point,the differences between the two groups were significant(P<0.05).The differences in the remaining indicators were not significant(P>0.05);on school days,the differences in all indicators of physical activity between the experimental and control groups of children were not significant(P>0.05);on weekend days,the differences in all indicators of physical activity in the experimental group were not significant(P>0.05)in both the pre and post-test of the experimental group and significant(P<0.05)in the control group,and at the time point of the post-test,the two groups Significant differences(P<0.05)between the indicators of physical activity.Conclusions:(1)The 12 weeks of adapted physical activity helped improve the improvement of fundamental movement skills in the experimental group of children with autism.Specifically,there was a significant effect on the improvement of locomotor skills,a significant effect on the improvement of one-legged jumping and front straddle jumping movements,and an insignificant effect on the improvement of object control skills,but a significant effect on the improvement of two-handed ball catching movements;(2)12 weeks of adapted physical activity helped improve the improvement of static behaviors of children with autism,but not on the improvement of their physical activity level.