Effects of Physical Activity on Social, Behavioral, and Cognitive Skills in Children and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Systematic Review of the Literature

This systematic review aims to describe six types of physical activity interventions utilized with children and young adults ages 5–22 as a treatment for ASD. These interventions include swimming, cycling, neuromuscular training, yoga, sports, and exergaming. This examines the knowledge gaps regarding the details of these interventions via time (sessions, per week, overall length), the severity of ASD in participants (using a 4-point scale), and the outcomes specific to ASD (cognition, social skills, physical fitness, and behavior). A systematic search of peer-reviewed research articles was conducted across five databases focusing on physical activity as an intervention for children and young adults with ASD. From an initial screening of 387 records, 29 of the studies were included in the review. The analysis includes types of intervention, dependent measures, research design, and intervention duration. Types of intervention most studied (swimming, cycling, neuromuscular training, yoga, sports, and exergaming) were further analyzed. All studies found that physical activity as an intervention, improved aspects of physical fitness (endurance, strength, balance), cognition, social skills (language, eye contact, engaging with others), and/or behavior.