Steps for Implementation
Step 1. Assessing Activity Level
- It is important to assess the activity level of children and adolescents with autism. Quantitative measures for physical activity can include heart rate monitoring, pedometry, electronic screen devices, accelerometry, and inclinometry. Qualitative measures of physical activity include logbooks, survey questionnaires, and diaries. This baseline will allow us to evaluate the efficacy of physical activity.
- Analyzing typical problem behaviors before the introduction of exercise will also allow us to have a reference to evaluate post intervention.
Step 2. Warming Up
The sessions often begin with a warm-up activity. Warm- up activities can include jumping rope, doing jumping jacks, etc. to ready the learner’s body and nervous system for the workout.
Step 3. Exercising
The major portion of the session can include indoor or outdoor aerobic activities, resistance training, and/or stretching, or aquatic exercises done at a swimming pool. Aerobic training includes cycling, treadmill, exergaming (exercising while playing a video game), and aquatic exercises. Resistance training programs target upper limb and lower limb muscles by using machines, free weights, and body weight. Most studies implement exercise training two to three times per week with durations varying from 20 minutes to an hour.
Step 4. Cooling Down
Following the exercise session, it is ideal to complete a cool-down activity to smoothly transition from exercise back to a steady state of rest. Some examples of cool-down activities are stretching and meditating.
Step 5. Post-Intervention Assessment
Post intervention assessments of physical activity and challenging behaviors are used to evaluate the efficacy of the exercise program. These assessments can be done daily or weekly and may be completed through self-reporting or by parents or teachers/instructors.
Research and Outcomes
Research Summary
Age Range: 3-18
Skills: Communication, social, play, cognitive, school readiness, academic/pre-academic, adaptive/self-help, challenging/interfering behavior, motor
Settings: Home, school, community
Evidence Rating: Evidence Based
The information found in the Research Summary table is updated following a literature review of new research and these ages, skills, and settings reflects information from this review.
Outcomes Matrix
| Age: | 0-5 | 6-14 | 15-22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic/Pre-academic | Yes | ||
| Challenging/Interfering Behavior | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cognitive | |||
| Communication | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Joint Attention | |||
| Mental Health | |||
| Motor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Play | Yes | ||
| School Readiness | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Self-determination | |||
| Social | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vocational |
Exercise and movement (EXM) interventions incorporate the use of physical exertion and/or mindful movement to target a variety of skills and behaviors. Exercise can be used as an antecedent activity to improve performance in a task or behavior, or it can be used to increase physical fitness and motor skills. Movement activities can include sports/recreation activities, martial arts, yoga, or other mindful practices that focus on specific sets of motor skills and techniques. EXM interventions may incorporate a warm-up/cool down and aerobic, strength, stretching, and/or skillful motor activities and be performed in individual or group/team-based settings. EXM is often used in conjunction with prompting, modeling, reinforcement, and visual supports (Steinbrenner, et al., 2020).