Recommendations for the Inclusion of Autistic Children in Community-Based Physical Activity Programmes: A Delphi Study.
Edel Ryan, Dean McDonnell, Sean Healy and 2 others
Twenty-two experts reached consensus on recommendations for including autistic children in community sports programmes: coaches need autism-specific training, sessions should run 30 to 45 minutes twice weekly, and bridging sessions should precede mainstream integration.
These are expert opinions, not tested interventions.
Key findings
1Coaches working with autistic children should be educated in methods of inclusion (100% agreement), behavioural strategies (94.4%), fundamental movement skills (94.4%), sensory integration (88.9%), and the Picture Exchange Communication System (75%).
2Sessions should last 30 to 45 minutes (86.67% agreement) and run twice weekly (68.75% agreement), with programmes predominantly focused on developing fundamental movement skills (87.6% agreement).
3Clubs should offer small-group bridging sessions (under five children) before mainstream integration, focusing on fundamental movement skills and sport-specific rules, tailored to each child's abilities (93.8% agreement).
Still to come
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only two autistic individuals were on the panel, and the authors note that recruiting from this group was particularly challenging. The views of autistic children and their parents were not included; the authors call for future research to incorporate them. The panel was international (16 European, 4 American, 2 Australian), and the authors acknowledge cultural differences may have shaped opinions. Two of the co-authors met the study's own inclusion criteria for the expert panel, which the authors disclose but do not discuss further. The recommendations have not been tested in practice. The authors state that further research is needed to examine their implementation and effectiveness in community settings. The panel was small (22 people), and consensus was defined at a relatively low threshold of 67% agreement.
Declared interests
Funded by the South East Technological University's President's Fellowship Award. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these recommendations as evidence that any specific programme design improves outcomes for autistic children. This is a consensus of 22 experts' opinions, not a tested intervention. The panel itself split 50/50 on whether volunteers need autism-specific training, and the authors explicitly state that the recommendations have not yet been evaluated for feasibility or effectiveness in real community settings.
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