Can a Community-Based Football Program Benefit Motor Ability in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder? A Pilot Evaluation Considering the Role of Social Impairments

Katherine Howells; Carmel Sivaratnam; Ebony Lindor; Jason He; Christian Hyde; Jane McGillivray; Rujuta B Wilson; Nicole Rinehart

doi:10.1007/s10803-021-04933-w

Can a Community-Based Football Program Benefit Motor Ability in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder? A Pilot Evaluation Considering the Role of Social Impairments

J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Jan;52(1):402-413. doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-04933-w. Epub 2021 Mar 13.

Authors

Katherine Howells¹, Carmel Sivaratnam², Ebony Lindor², Jason He^{3

4

5}, Christian Hyde^{2

6}, Jane McGillivray², Rujuta B Wilson⁷, Nicole Rinehart²

Affiliations

¹ Deakin Child Study Centre, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia. k.howells@research.deakin.edu.au.
² Deakin Child Study Centre, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
³ Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁴ F. M. Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁵ Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Sackler Institute for Translational Neurodevelopment, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
⁶ Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.
⁷ David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA , UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Divisions of Pediatric Neurology and Child Psychiatry, Los Angeles, California, USA.

PMID: 33713242
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04933-w

Abstract

This non-randomised pilot study evaluated the impact of a community football program on motor ability in children aged 5-12 years with autism spectrum disorder. Sixteen children were evaluated at baseline-and-post attendance in a football program for a varied number of weeks and compared to 19 children engaging in treatment-as-usual. Primary analyses indicated a statistically significant increase in total MABC-2, aiming and catching, and balance scores for the intervention group, with no changes in scores in the comparison group. There were no changes in manual dexterity across either group. At a between group level, the changes in aiming and catching scores were significantly greater for the intervention group. Further analyses highlighted the potential importance of social impairments regarding aiming and catching.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorders; Community-based; Football; Motor ability; Organised physical activity; Social skills.

MeSH terms

Autism Spectrum Disorder*
Child
Football*
Humans
Motor Skills
Pilot Projects
Soccer*