Physical Activity and Physical Fitness of School-Aged Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social communication deficits and the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests, or activities. Literature comparing the physical activity and fitness of children with ASD to typically developing peers is in need of attention. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the physical activity and fitness of school-aged children with ASD (N = 17) in comparison to typically developing peers (N = 12). Participants with ASD completed diagnostic and developmental assessments and a series of physical fitness assessments: 20-meter multistage shuttle, sit-and-reach test, handgrip strength, and body mass index. Physical activity was measured using accelerometry and preestablished cut-points of physical activity (Freedson et al., 2005). MANCOVA revealed significant between-group effects in strength (P = .03), while ANCOVA revealed significant between-group effects in sedentary (P = .00), light (P = .00), moderate (P = .00), and total moderate-to-vigorous (P = .01) physical activity. Children with ASD are less physically active and fit than typically developing peers. Adapted physical activity programs are one avenue with intervention potential to combat these lower levels of physical activity and fitness found in children with ASD.

Accelerometer-Assessed Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in Youth With Disabilities

“…The results thus indicate that many youth with disabilities may be at higher risk of not reaching levels of PA, suggested to be health enhancing, than youth with TD. The lower habitual PA (except MVPA for the ID group) and higher sedentary time than in the TD group in the current study are consistent with previous accelerometer studies comparing youth with different disabilities and youth with TD in Europe and North America (Einarsson et al, 2015;Houwen et al, 2009;Nooijen et al, 2014;Obeid et al, 2014;Tyler et al, 2014). Furthermore, the finding that a low proportion of youth with disabilities met the PA recommendations is in line with previous findings in youth with various disabilities across the Western world (Bandini et al, 2013;Einarsson et al, 2015;Esposito et al, 2012;Gorter et al, 2012;Izquierdo-Gomez et al, 2014;Kozub, 2003;Mitchell et al, 2015b;Shields et al, 2009), indicating that low PA and high sedentary time in youth with disabilities is a widespread phenomenon, at least in developed countries.…”

“…That is, youth with cerebral palsy as well as youth with visual impairment were found to be less physically active than youth with TD (Houwen, Hartman, & Visscher, 2009;Nooijen, Slaman, Stam, Roebroeck, & Berg-Emons, 2014). Studies have reported lower levels of PA in youth with ID, Down syndrome, and ASDs than youth with TD (Einarsson et al, 2015;Tyler et al, 2014;Whitt-Glover et al, 2006), although other studies have not found any differences (Bandini et al, 2013;Roberts, 2007;Rosser Sandt & Frey, 2005). Even higher PA levels among youth with intellectual disabilities than among youth with TD have been reported (Roberts, 2007).…”

“…Previous accelerometer studies in youth with disabilities, however, show varying results regarding meeting these recommendations, such as between 0% and 25% of youth with cerebral palsy (Gorter, Noorduyn, Obeid, & Timmons, 2012;Mitchell, Ziviani, & Boyd, 2015b), between 0% and 50% of youth with intellectual disability (ID; Einarsson et al, 2015;Kozub, 2003;Roberts, 2007), between 23% and 100% of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs; Bandini et al, 2013;Pan & Frey, 2006;Rosser Sandt & Frey, 2005;Tyler, MacDonald, & Menear, 2014), and between 21% and 93% of youth with Down syndrome (Esposito, MacDonald, Hornyak, & Ulrich, 2012;Izquierdo-Gomez et al, 2014;Roberts, 2007;Shields, Dodd, & Abblitt, 2009;Whitt-Glover, O'Neill, & Stettler, 2006).…”

“…Youth with Down syndrome in Roberts' (2007) study also met recommendations on a similar proportion (44%). Furthermore, Rosser Sandt and Frey (2005) found that fewer youth with ASDs (67%) than youth with TD (92%) met the recommendations, whereas Bandini et al (2013) found no difference between youth with ASDs (23%) and youth with TD (43%) and Tyler et al (2014) found that all youth with ASDs (100%) and youth with TD (100%) met the recommendations. Hence, the results vary greatly across studies and types of disabilities and also vary across studies among youth with TD.…”

“…With regard to sedentary time, previous accelerometer studies comparing youth with disabilities with youth with TD show that youth with disabilities such as cerebral palsy, visual impairment, or ASDs are more sedentary than youth with TD (Houwen et al, 2009;Nooijen et al, 2014, Obeid, Balemans, Noorduyn, Gorter, & Timmons, 2014Tyler et al, 2014). Youth with ID are reported to be both more sedentary than youth with TD (Einarsson et al, 2015) and similarly sedentary (Roberts, 2007).…”