Promoting Positive Health Outcomes in an Urban Community-Based Physical Activity Intervention for Preschool Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum.
Leah Ketcheson, Kerri Staples, Edward Andrew Pitchford and 1 others
PMID 33459918WHAT IT FOUND
Preschoolers with autism improved ball skills and upper body strength after 12 weeks of community-based physical activity.
Locomotor skills and daily physical activity levels did not change. The intervention combined motor training, behavioral coaching, and group play.
Key findings
01Ball skills scores significantly increased from pre to post test, while locomotor skills showed small and non-significant gains.
02Only the isometric push-up showed a significant improvement in health-related physical fitness; other fitness measures and daily physical activity levels did not change significantly.
03The intervention delivered multiple components simultaneously, including fundamental motor skill instruction, Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching strategies, and group activities.
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
The study had no control group, so natural development or other factors cannot be ruled out as causes for the improvements. The sample was small (25 children) and limited to a narrow age range (3-5 years), which restricts generalizability. Attrition occurred, with 7 of the 25 participants missing physical activity data, reducing the sample size for those outcomes to 18. The intervention combined multiple components (motor instruction, behavioral strategies, group play), making it impossible to determine which specific element drove the results.
Declared interests
The text does not explicitly state funding sources or conflicts of interest in the provided sentences.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the improvements in ball skills and upper body strength were caused by the behavioral framework (CPRT) or motor instruction alone. The intervention delivered multiple components simultaneously, including social stories, task cards, and group play, so the contribution of any single element cannot be separated.