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

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.