An Analysis of the Effect of Educational Game Training on Some Physical Parameters and Social Skills of the Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Purpose of this research is to measure the effect of educational game training on some physical parameters and social skills of the children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Five individuals (participants) diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder participated in the research. During the research, the participants were made to play 8 different educational games for 8 weeks, and 3 days a week for 1 hour; and the sessions during the research were recorded with a video camera. Research data were obtained before and after the 8-week educational game program by using flamingo test, vertical jump test, plate tapping test, sit and reach test, and by performance determination form for individuals with pervasive developmental disability. SPSS 25 package program was used in the analysis of the data. The Wilcoxon test, a nonparametric test, was used to evaluate pre- and post-test results. As a result of the study, it was found that the educational games have positive effects on some physical parameters (balance, flexibility, strength, hand-eye coordination) and social skills (matching skills, imitation skills, following instructions skills, visual support use, receptive language skills, communicative language skills, game and music skills, self-care skills, daily life skills, motor skills, socialization skills, and mathematics).

Time Limited Benefits of Physical and Proprioceptive Training on Physical Fitness Components in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…The mechanisms underlying this enhancement might be a reduction in passive tension and the stiffness of tissues surrounding a joint, increased muscle fascicle length and/or reduced pain sensitivity, as Afonso et al (2021) previously explained. Pan (2011) provided evidence that an aquatic program could promote flexibility in children with and Bremer and Cairney (2019) showed that a fitness program improved flexibility in children with ASD children, while Tezcan and Sadik (2018) showed significant SRT improvement following a game-based training program in individuals with ASD.…”