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Young Children with ASD Participate in the Same Level of Physical Activity as Children Without ASD: Implications for Early Intervention to Maintain Good Health

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Abstract

Primary-school-aged children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are reported to engage in lower levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) compared to typically developing (TD) children (Jones et al. in PLoS ONE, 12(2):1–23, 2017). Levels of MVPA in young children with ASD remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate MVPA in 4-to-7-year-old children with (n = 37) and without (n = 40) ASD, to determine if MVPA is related to ASD diagnosis; and examine correlates to better inform interventions. Results indicated children with ASD engage in the same levels of MVPA as TD children. Future studies need to further explore MVPA in children with ASD over time to uncover when the divergence in MVPA levels occur and what factors may be associated.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank all families and pediatricians for taking part in the study and Rotary Health for their continued support.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: S.T. is funded by a Rotary Health Illawarra Sunrise scholarship. T.H. was funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship (APP1070571). This study was funded by Deakin University’s Faculty of Health. N.R received funding from the Moose Foundation and the Australian Football League to conduct research in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders and inclusion. Nicole Rinehart also received funding from the Ferrero Group Australia as part of its Kinder + Sport pillar of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives to promote active lifestyles among young people.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Deakin Child Study Centre, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

    S. Thomas, T. May & N. Rinehart

  2. Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

    T. Hinkley

  3. Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Health and Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

    L. M. Barnett

  4. Deakin Child Study Centre, School of Psychology, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, VIC, 3125, Australia

    N. Rinehart

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  1. S. Thomas
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  4. T. May
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Appendix: Subset of Ecological Correlates from the HAPPY Survey

Appendix: Subset of Ecological Correlates from the HAPPY Survey

Construct

Survey question

Reliability

Individual

 Child preference for activity

My child is active by him/herself (measured on a 5-point scale, with a possible total score of 1–5)

Kappa: 0.78

 Child constraints

My child does not have enough energy to do more physical activity; my child does not have enough time to do physical activity; my child does not have anyone to be physically active with, my child just does not enjoy being physically activity; the right facilities are not available for my child to do more physical activity; my child is too overweight to participate in physical activity; my child feels uncomfortable with groups of children; my child does not have good enough skills to do more physical activity; my child will have more freedom and opportunities to be active when he/she is older partner (each item measured on a 5-point scale, and combined to give an overall ‘constraints’ score, with a possible total score of 9–40)

ICC: 0.68

 Active transport

How often does your child usually: walk to kinder/school; walk to other destinations; ride a bike/scooter to kinder/school; ride a bike/scooter to other destinations partner (each item measured on a 5-point scale, and combined to give an overall ‘active transport’ score, with a possible total score of 4–20)

ICC: 0.75

Parental correlates

 Parental constraints

I am too tired to support my child to be active (e.g. play outside with him/her, take him/her to park); Looking after my other child/ren stops me from supporting my child to be active (each item measured on a 5-point scale, with a possible score of 1–5 for each measure)

Kappa: 0.69

 Beliefs

I am satisfied with the amount of physical activity my child does; My child does enough physical activity to keep him/her healthy; (each item measured on a 5-point scale, with a possible total score of 1–5 for each variable)

Internal reliability = 0.63

 Rules

My child is able to play freely in the backyard whenever he/she wants to; My child is able to play freely in the street whenever he/she wants to (each item measured on a 5-point scale, with a possible total score of 1–5)

0.62

 PA role models (parents)

My child sees me being active, my child sees my partner being active (measured on a 5-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree; possible total score of 2–10)

ICC: 0.64

Parents physically active with child

Assessed by asking how often are the following people physically active with your child? You, your partner (measured on a 5-point scale, and combined to give an overall ‘active with child’ score; possible total score of 2–10)

ICC: 0.61

Physical environment

  

 Suitability of neighbourhood playgrounds

Number of suitable playgrounds in the neighbourhood, variety and suitability of equipment, and usability of playgrounds (each item measured on a 5-point scale, and combined to give an overall ‘suitability’ score with a possible total score of 5–25)

ICC: 0.59

 Toys and equipment available

Child access to toys and equipment at home to be physically active with (e.g. balls, billy cart, skipping rope, trampoline) were summed via the use of available equipment answered ‘yes/no’ for a possible ‘total equipment’ score ranging from 0 to 24

ICC: 0.89

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Thomas, S., Hinkley, T., Barnett, L.M. et al. Young Children with ASD Participate in the Same Level of Physical Activity as Children Without ASD: Implications for Early Intervention to Maintain Good Health. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 3278–3289 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04026-9

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