ORIGINAL ARTICLE  EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOMECHANICS 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2017 January-February;57(1-2):53-9

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.16.05919-3

Copyright © 2016 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Effect of exercise intervention on the perceptual-motor skills in adolescents with autism

Forouzan RAFIE ¹, Abdollah GHASEMI ², Azadeh ZAMANI JAM ³, Shahin JALALI ² ✉

¹ Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Oral and Dental Diseases Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran; ² Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran; ³ Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

BACKGROUND: Motor skill impairment has been reported in many studies of autistic adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of selected physical exercise on Perceptual-motor skills in adolescents with autism.
METHODS: Twenty adolescents with autism that were under special education in Tehran based on their Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores and level of abilities were selected. Measurement tool was Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP). Selected group motor program in this study includes motor activities, games and sports for adolescents that were performed for 10 weeks.
RESULTS: Results showed that selected physical exercise training has significant effects on all of the variables (P<0.001) except the speed of running and agility (P=0.61), bilateral coordination (P=0.12) and response speed (P=0.42).
CONCLUSIONS: It seems that miscellaneous physical exercise programs which include ball games, delightful play and targeted play can improve perceptual-motor skills in adolescents with autism.

KEY WORDS: Adolescents - Autistic disorder - Exercise - Motor skills