The effect of selected exercise group on motor skills and cognitive functions of children with autism spectrum disorders

Abstract

Abstract<br /> <br /> Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the selected group exercise on motor skill and cognitive function of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) using a quasi-experimental design with repeated measures. <br /> Materials and Methods: Forty children with ASD aged 5-12 years old participated in this study. The Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP), the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were performed along 3-stages: baseline, pretest, and posttest across Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK). The repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used for analyzing the data.<br /> Results: The results demonstrated that the selected exercises have positive effects on motor skill (p < 0.05) however have not significant effects on cognitive function (p> 0.05).<br /> Conclusion: According to the results, the SPARK's training on autistic children with severe mobility limitations is more effective but has not cognitive function improvement.