The influence of vigorous versus mild exercise on autistic stereotyped behaviors

Abstract

A major problem encountered in many autistic children is their high rate of stereotypic behavior, which has been shown to interfere with on-task responding and other appropriate behaviors. Since the experimental literature indicates that physical exercise can positively influence both appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, including the children's stereotypic behaviors, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether the specific type of exercise (i.e., mild vs. vigorous) would differentially affect subsequent stereotyped behaviors. The results demonstrated that (1) 15 minutes of mild exercise (ball playing) had little or no influence on the children's subsequent stereotyped responding, and (2) 15 minutes of continuous and vigorous exercise (jogging) was always followed by reductions in stereotyped behaviors. These results are discussed in relation to cognitive, physiological, and educational implications.

Effects of Exercise Interventions on Stereotypic Behaviours in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Jogging resulted in a reduction of stereotypic behaviours immediately following exercise, but the participants returned to or exceeded pretreatment levels of stereotypic behaviours by 90 minutes post-jogging. These three studies provide moderate 29 and weak 25,26 support for the idea that vigorous exercise produces short-term decreases in stereotypic behaviours, whereas mild exercise has little influence. These findings further support the premise that exercise decreases self-stimulatory behaviour, although long-term benefits have not been examined.…”

“…Three studies further explored the relationship between exercise and stereotypic behaviours by varying the intensity of exercise. In the Level II study by Kern et al, 29 exercise was carried out in 15-minute intervals of "vigorous" or "mild" intensity, defined by the authors as jogging or ball playing, respectively. A decrease in stereotypic behaviours was recorded after jogging, but not after ball playing.…”

“…Furthermore, benefits were not limited to these behaviours; several studies in this review found improvements in other areas (e.g., academic responses, on-task behaviours). 17,23,25,29 Additional limitations of this systematic review are based on the following factors. Articles included were limited to English-language publications, which may not have allowed for a complete perspective of current possible evidence.…”

Otizm Spektrum Bozukluğu Olan Çocuğa Sahip Ebeveynlerin Spor İle İlgili Görüşleri

“…One of these treatment methods is sports education. In the literature studies reported that running (Kern et al, 1984), skating (Powers et al, 1992), swimming (Yilmaz et al, 2004), stretching exercises (Reid et al, 1988), hydrotherapy treatments (Bumin, Uyanık, Yilmaz, Kayıhan and Topçu et al, 2003) reduced stereotypes and improved daily life skills of children with ASD. It has been reported that parents play a key role in the development of their children's physical activity behaviors (Lee, 2004).…”

The Influence of Physical Exercise on Individuals With Autism: Is Physical Exercise Able to Help Autistic?

“…In a study by Kern et al (1984) they found that there was a significant decrease in self -stimulatory behavior Science Publications JSS after 15 min of continuous vigorous exercise (jogging) whereas 15 min of mild ball playing program had no effect. Studies connected by Watters and Watters (1980) compared three different settings to see which one produced the largest decrease in self-stimulatory behaviors.…”