Effects of an Inclusive Physical Activity Program on the Motor Skills, Social Skills and Attitudes of Students with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Ahmet Sansi; Sibel Nalbant; Dilara Ozer

doi:10.1007/s10803-020-04693-z

Effects of an Inclusive Physical Activity Program on the Motor Skills, Social Skills and Attitudes of Students with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 Jul;51(7):2254-2270. doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04693-z.

Authors

Ahmet Sansi¹, Sibel Nalbant², Dilara Ozer³

Affiliations

¹ Vocational School of Health Services, Batman University, Batman, Turkey. ahmetsansi72@hotmail.com.
² Faculty of Sport Sciences, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya, Turkey.
³ Faculty of Health Sciences, İstanbul Kent University, İstanbul, Turkey.

PMID: 32940823
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-020-04693-z

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of an inclusive physical activity (IPA) program on the motor and social skills and attitudes of students with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study sample consisted of 45 ASD and typical development (TD) students aged between 6 and 11 years. The students were randomly divided into two groups: a training group consisting of 27 students (n = 13 with ASD and n = 14 with TD) and a control group consisting of 18 students (n = 9 with ASD and n = 9 with TD). In conclusion, the IPA program increased the motor and social skills of the ASD students and improved the motor skills of the TD students and positively affected their attitudes towards the ASD students.

Keywords: Attitude; Autism spectrum disorder; Inclusive physical activity; Motor skill; Social skill.

MeSH terms

Attitude
Autism Spectrum Disorder / psychology*
Child
Exercise / psychology*
Female
Humans
Mainstreaming, Education / methods*
Male
Motor Skills
Physical Education and Training / methods*
Program Evaluation
Random Allocation
Social Skills
Students / psychology*