The Game of Life soccer program: Effect on skills, physical fitness and mobility in persons with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder

Barak, Shlomo; Oz, Malca; Dagan, Nadav; Hutzler, Yeshayahu

doi:10.1111/jar.12620

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Strangely, people with ASD showed no significant improvements in total soccer skills, while presenting a significant improvement in physical fitness skills (Sit and Reach Test) and in mobility skills (reduction in Timed Up and Go test). However, the intellectual disability group showed better improvements than the ASD group, which, in the authors' opinion, is probably because the GOL program needs to be improved to become more suitable for people with ASD [66].…”

Section: Adultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

On the Playing Field to Improve: A Goal for Autism

Vetri

Roccella

2020

Medicina

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In recent years, there has been a renewed attention to lifestyle-based interventions in people with autism spectrum disorder. The positive effects of physical exercise programs have been well documented both in healthy people and in people with disabilities in the fields of psychological well-being, cognitive outcome and medical health. There is much less evidence about the opportunity to attempt a team-group sport for people with autism. Although researchers seem to suggest an overall positive effect, playing team sports for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) means dealing with difficulties in social interactions and limitations in motor functions. This narrative review aims to report studies about the effects, improvements and difficulties that people with autism have to face when they play the world’s most popular team sport: soccer.

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Section: Adultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

On the Playing Field to Improve: A Goal for Autism

Vetri

Roccella

2020

Medicina

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“…Conversely, meeting guidelines for physical activity for children—defined as 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous intensity daily physical activity—is associated with beneficial health outcomes across a variety of physical and mental conditions [16]. In addition to the positive influence on the child’s general physical profile, involvement in sport is also associated with the development of sport-specific characteristics and contributes to the development of better cardiorespiratory fitness [17,18,19]. Therefore, it seems essential to stimulate children with ASD through a wide range of physical activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motor Capacities in Boys with High Functioning Autism: Which Evaluations to Choose?

Bricout

Pace

Dumortier

et al. 2019

JCM

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The difficulties with motor skills in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has become a major focus of interest. Our objectives were to provide an overall profile of motor capacities in children with ASD compared to neurotypically developed children through specific tests, and to identify which motor tests best discriminate children with or without ASD. Twenty-two male children with ASD (ASD—10.7 ± 1.3 years) and twenty controls (CONT—10.0 ± 1.6 years) completed an evaluation with 42 motor tests from European Physical Fitness Test Battery (EUROFIT), the Physical and Neurological Exam for Subtle Signs (PANESS) and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children ( M-ABC). However, it was challenging to design a single global classifier to integrate all these features for effective classification due to the issue of small sample size. To this end, we proposed a hierarchical ensemble classification method to combine multilevel classifiers by gradually integrating a large number of features from different motor assessments. In the ASD group, flexibility, explosive power and strength scores (p < 0.01) were significantly lower compared to the control group. Our results also showed significant difficulties in children with ASD for dexterity and ball skills (p < 0.001). The principal component analysis and agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis allowed for the classification of children based on motor tests, correctly distinguishing clusters between children with and without motor impairments.

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“…Instead, this study focused on measuring the effects of an already existing PA option for the target group. Other studies have employed a similar approach, with regards to investigating already existing and well established offers and programs with PA for individuals with ID, and have found health-enhancing effects as well (Barak & Gan, 2019; Messiah et al, 2019; Rubenstein et al, 2020). This approach is valuable, when investigating the effects of existing solutions aimed upon the societal problem of the poor health status of individuals with ID.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The health effects of 14 weeks of physical activity in a real-life setting for adults with intellectual disabilities

Højberg

Helge

Pingel

et al. 2022

Preprint

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BackgroundIndividuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) have a reduced physical health compared to the general population, and one of the main contributors is inactivity.AimTo investigate how 14 weeks of physical activity (PA) in a real-life setting affects cardiovascular fitness, body composition and bone health of adults with ID.MethodsAdults with ID were recruited into a PA-group or a control group (CON). The PA-group participated in 14 weeks of PA. Body composition, cardiovascular fitness and bone health were assessed before and after the intervention.Outcomes & resultsCardiovascular fitness and body composition improved from pre to post within the PA-group: Heart rates (HR) during the last 30 seconds of two increments of a treadmill test, were reduced (3.2 km/h: -4.4 bpm, p<0.05; 4.8 km/h: -7.5 bpm, p<0.001) and fat mass was reduced (−1.02 kg, p<0.05). Between-group differences in favour of the PA-group, were observed in whole body bone mineral density (BMD) (0.024 g/cm2, p<0.05) and in BMD of the left femur neck (0.043 g/cm2, p<0.05).Conclusions & ImplicationsFourteen weeks of PA increase cardiovascular fitness, reduced fat mass and improved BMD in the weight-bearing skeleton in the PA-group. Increased and regular PA seems to be a promising tool to promote physical health in adults with ID.What this paper addsThis paper underlines the importance of including physical activity in the everyday lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. The health impact of physical activity performed outside controlled research laboratories needs further investigation, and therefore this paper sheds light on physical activity performed in a real-life setting. Our results indicate a positive impact of physical activity on the cardiovascular system and body composition, as well as bone health. The question of how of bone health of adults with intellectual disabilities responds to physical activity is largely understudied in intervention designs, and this paper includes state-of-the art investigation of development in bone mineral density after participation in varied physical activities. These results give promise and indicate a positive impact of the intervention on the bone health of the participants.

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The Game of Life soccer program: Effect on skills, physical fitness and mobility in persons with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder

Cited by 13 publications

References 44 publications

On the Playing Field to Improve: A Goal for Autism

On the Playing Field to Improve: A Goal for Autism

Motor Capacities in Boys with High Functioning Autism: Which Evaluations to Choose?

The health effects of 14 weeks of physical activity in a real-life setting for adults with intellectual disabilities

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