Leisure Participation Patterns for School Age Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Findings from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health

Abstract

Leisure activity participation is important for health and well-being. This study examined similarities and differences between typically developing children and those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from 6 to 17 years old in physical, recreational, social, skill, and jobs/chores activities from a large national database. Findings revealed that children with ASD had significantly lower participation levels than those without ASD between 11 and 17 years old. They suggest an increasing disparity among many types of leisure participation for children and youth with ASD as they age, eventually leading to limited participation in adult activities. They reinforce the importance of intervention at an early age to increase participation in these activities to promote development of skills that contribute to adult competencies.

Investigating the participation of children on the autism spectrum across home, school, and community: A longitudinal study

“…Children at Y3 reported to get together with other people across contexts less frequently than reported at Y1 and Y2. This decline with increasing age in overall social participation is in contrast with the findings from Ratcliff et al () who reported a generally stable pattern of social activities participation between ages 6–15 years. Ratcliff et al's findings were based on a composite score and as such may not have reflected participation changes within types of social activities as reported in this study.…”

“…The decline in participation in physical activities (organized and unstructured) with age is consistent with previous research on children on the autism spectrum (Jones et al, ; Ratcliff et al, ) and their typically developing peers (Dumith, Gigante, Domingues, & Kohl, ). There was a decrease in the number of children involved in organized physical activities from Y1 ( n = 51; 60.7%) to Y3 ( n = 39; 46.4%).…”

Positive Youth Development for Youth With Disabilities in a Therapeutic Camp Setting

“…These tasks are needed to successfully gain and sustain employment, care for oneself and become one's own advocate (Lindsay et al, 2015). Finally, the three themes identified in this study are valuable because they potentially play a role in shaping the leisure preferences and behaviors of the youth over their lifespan, depending on the severity of the disability and the availability of family and community support systems (Johnson & Bagatell, 2017;Ratcliff, Hong, & Hilton, 2018…”

Proof of concept: The TRANSITION program for young adults with autism spectrum disorder and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a crucial time of change in most people's lives, bringing dramatic transformation of virtually every major life domain. The phase of life coined emerging adulthood (approximately ages [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] is characterised by opportunities to explore roles and relationships [1], but also increased demands on independence and associated risks such as unemployment, truncated education, dependence on parents, loneliness, onset of mental health conditions, and sedentary lifestyles [2][3][4].…”

“…This group of young people also tend to participate less than their peers in activities (e.g. physical activities, job, and chores) that contribute to adult competencies [21,22]. This mix of functional impairments, insufficient support, and lack of structured activities leaves the individual at risk of inactivity and social isolation.…”