There is a lack of current research to support the efficacy of a combination of equine-assisted activities (EAA) and brain building activities to influence motor skill competencies in youth with neurodevelopmental disorders (ND). The primary objective of this study was to quantify changes in motor skill proficiency before and after 8 weeks of EAA and brain-building activities in youth with ND. A secondary objective was to quantify changes in motor skill proficiency before and after 1 year of EAA and brain-building activities in youth with ND. Twenty-five youth completed the same 32-week protocol that was separated into 4, 8-week blocks, in the following order: (1) control; (2) EAA-only; (3) washout; (4) GaitWay block (EAA and brain building activities). Before and after each block, motor skills were assessed using the Short Form of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Version 2 (BOT-2). Seven youth continued with the GaitWay intervention for one additional year, and the BOT-2 Short Form was also administered following this intervention. A repeated-measures analysis-of-variance was performed to compare BOT-2 subtest and overall scores between interventions with a significance of 0.05. Manual dexterity was higher at ] vs. Pre-Control [2.2 (2.1); p = 0.018] and Post-Control [2.6 (2.0); p = 0.024], and at Post-GaitWay vs. Pre-Control [3.2 (2.4) vs. 2.2 (2.1); p = 0.037]. Upper-limb coordination was higher at Post-GaitWay vs. Post-Control [6.0 (4.1) vs. 3.9 (3.8); p = 0.050]. When compared to Pre-Control [3.2 (3.0)], strength was higher at Post-EAA [4.9 (3.5); p = 0.028] and at Post-GaitWay [5.2 (2.9); p = 0.015]. Overall scores were higher at Post-GaitWay [39.1 (22.2)] when compared to ; p = 0.003] and ; p = 0.009]. Additionally, motor skills were maintained for 1 year following the Post-GaitWay testing session among seven participants. This is the first known study to include and demonstrate the short-term and long-term effects of a combination of EAA and brain building activities with motor proficiency in youth with ND.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to evaluate empirical support for the use of exercise as an evidence-based practice (EBP) for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), aged 1–21 years, using the Adapted Physical Activity Taxonomy (APAT) (1).MethodA systematic review of research, published within the past 10 years and accessible in SPORTDiscus, ProQuest Nursing, Science Direct, ERIC, Ovid MEDLINE, and PsychINFO databases, was conducted following seven inclusion criteria. An initial 169 articles were identified of which 23 articles were found that met the inclusion criteria including implementation of an exercise intervention for participants diagnosed with ASD and utilization of an experimental/quasi experimental, correlational, single–subject, or qualitative research design. These 23 articles were evaluated using the APAT to determine the quality of the research and the strength of the recommendation in establishing exercise as an EBP.ResultsOf the 23 articles evaluated, 17 employed an experimental/quasi experimental design, 1 article employed a correlational design, and 5 articles employed a single-subject design. Only one article (2) was found to meet the minimum overall quality indicator of moderate (i.e., Level 2) when evaluated on the APAT. In total, 13 of the 23 articles (57%) had method sections evaluated as weak, and 17 of the 23 articles (74%) had results sections evaluated as weak.ConclusionFrom the findings of this systematic review, and in accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (3) definition of an EBP, it appears that exercise can be considered an EBP for school-aged children with ASD. However, this recommendation is based solely on moderate evidence from one well-designed and well-implemented experimental study; therefore, generalization is still pending further similar findings. Recommendations for future research are offered.

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Identifying tools to reinforce content on teaching children with visual impairments (VI) is needed to better inform future physical educators as children with VI often have poor physical education (PE) experiences. Content acquisition podcasts (CAPs), podcasts created with instructional design principles and expert-developed content, may provide preservice PE teachers with knowledge and confidence needed to properly teach children with VI. The purpose of this investigation was to compare knowledge and self-efficacy differences from pre- to postintervention among a control group, a textbook chapter group, and a CAPs group. A knowledge and self-efficacy assessment was developed through a modified Delphi method. The CAPs participants showed significantly higher knowledge gains compared with other groups. The CAPs group revealed significantly higher self-efficacy gain when compared with the control but did not significantly differ from one another. The textbook group did not significantly differ from the control group. Implications for future research and suggestions for practitioners are discussed.

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