Physical activity for children with autism spectrum disorder during COVID-19 pandemic

Shahnaz Shahrbanian; Meysam Yavari Kateb; Patricia K Doyle-Baker; Fahimeh Hassani

doi:10.1080/20473869.2021.1961205

Physical activity for children with autism spectrum disorder during COVID-19 pandemic

Int J Dev Disabil. 2021 Aug 11;69(4):467-471. doi: 10.1080/20473869.2021.1961205. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shahnaz Shahrbanian¹, Meysam Yavari Kateb², Patricia K Doyle-Baker³, Fahimeh Hassani^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Humanities, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
² Department of Sport Psychology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
³ Human Performance Lab, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
⁴ Department of Sports Science, Gedik University, Istanbul, Turkey.
⁵ Department of Education, Faculty of Social Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.

Abstract

In December 2019, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, China that culminated in a serious pandemic condition. Physical distancing restrictions were a significant component of the public health emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For children and youth, these restrictions included safety measures that impacted daily activities related to physical activity (PA) participation worldwide. Preliminary evidence suggests that in children with special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), COVID-19 restrictions may have disproportionally led to reduced levels of PA. The aim of this study was to review the benefits of PA for children with ASD and suggest Home PA Program examples for Children with ASD during COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine time.

Keywords: COVID-19; autism spectrum disorders; children; mental health; physical activity; quarantine.

Publication types

Review