Leisure Participation Patterns for School Age Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Findings from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health.
Karen Ratcliff, Ickpyo Hong, Claudia Hilton
PMID 29909498WHAT IT FOUND
School-age children with autism had lower participation in physical, skill, and jobs or chores activities, especially from age 11 to 17.
Screen-based recreation was similar, but social participation was lower at age 16 to 17.
Key findings
01Children with ASD had lower physical activity participation than unaffected children, and the difference was significant between 11 and 17 years.
02Children with ASD had lower participation in skill activities and jobs or chores between 11 and 17 years.
03Recreational activity participation did not differ by diagnosis across age groups, but social participation was lower for ASD only at 16 to 17 years.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
This was a one-time survey, so it cannot show that participation changed as children aged or that autism caused the differences. ASD status was based on parent report of a doctor or provider having told them the child has ASD and currently having it; no autism assessment confirmed the diagnosis. Participation was measured with a small number of parent-reported items, not direct observation or activity logs. Children with intellectual disability were excluded, so the findings do not speak to children with ASD and intellectual disability together. The recreational category focused on screen use, so similar scores do not mean similar types of leisure. The paper did not test an intervention, so it cannot support choosing a specific therapy.
Declared interests
Karen Ratcliff, Ickpyo Hong, and Claudia Hilton each declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the similar recreational activity scores as evidence that overall leisure participation is equal. The recreational category mainly counted television, video games, and electronic device use, and the survey did not capture whether activities were solitary or social.