Effects of Physical Exercise Interventions on Stereotyped Motor Behaviours in Children with ASD: A Meta-Analysis

Studies have reported that physical exercise reduces maladaptive stereotyped motor behaviours (SMB) in children with ASD, but these intervention studies vary in design and outcome. The present systematic review and meta-analysis included 22 studies, involving 274 children with ASD, to quantify the e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2022-07, Vol.52 (7), p.2934-2957
Main Authors: Teh, Elizabeth J., Vijayakumar, Ranjith, Tan, Timothy Xing Jun, Yap, Melvin J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Autism
Behavior
Behavior Problems
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Care and treatment
Child and School Psychology
Children
Clinical research
Diagnosis
Exercise
Exercise therapy
Health aspects
Homeostasis
Intervention
Meta Analysis
Moderators
Motor ability
Neurosciences
Original Paper
Otolaryngology
Patient outcomes
Pediatrics
Pervasive Developmental Disorders
Program Effectiveness
Psychology
Public Health
Risk factors
Social interaction
Stereotype (Psychology)
Stereotypes
Systematic review
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Summary:Studies have reported that physical exercise reduces maladaptive stereotyped motor behaviours (SMB) in children with ASD, but these intervention studies vary in design and outcome. The present systematic review and meta-analysis included 22 studies, involving 274 children with ASD, to quantify the effect of exercise on SMB and its potential moderators. Multi-level modelling revealed a large overall effect, Hedges’ g  = 1 . 16, with significant heterogeneity across participant, treatment, and study levels. Further, a more appropriate model using between-case estimation for within-subject effects to improve comparability between single-case and group-design studies, yielded a smaller but still significant effect, g  = 0.51. Lastly, higher exercise intensity, but not age, exercise duration or settings, reliably predicted treatment effectiveness. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed.
ISSN:0162-3257
1573-3432
DOI:10.1007/s10803-021-05152-z