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Despite the rising interest in intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder, the extent to which interventions are effective on gross motor outcomes is currently unknown. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of different intervention approaches on gross motor outcomes among children with autism spectrum disorder using meta-analysis. A total of 18 studies met the inclusion criteria for quantitative analysis. Pre- and posttest means andSDs were extracted to calculate effect sizes. Potential moderator variables were chosen based on important intervention characteristics. The results suggest that interventions have a large effect on gross motor outcomes among children with autism spectrum disorder (δ = 0.99,SE = 0.19,p

Assessment is the foundation of providing appropriate services and developing effective lesson plans for physical education. If assessment results do not truly represent a child's ability level, th...

Background Researchers have reported relatively low estimates of physical activity among children with various developmental disabilities. However, there are inconsistencies within these reports due to methodological issues. Objective The goals of this study were to estimate the prevalence of meeting national physical activity guidelines among children with various developmental disabilities and examine the relative influence of different disability descriptors on meeting the guidelines. Methods A sample of 3,010 U.S. children between the ages of 6 and 17 years with parent-reported diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, developmental disability, and/or intellectual disability was drawn from the combined 2016 and 2017 datasets of the National Survey of Children’s Health. Multivariate logistic regression analyses explored the unique contributions of multiple child characteristics and disability descriptors, such as diagnosis type, severity, complexity, and functionality, toward meeting physical activity guidelines and compared the likelihood of meeting guidelines between children with these diagnoses. Results The results of this study reveal that the majority of children with developmental disabilities are not achieving adequate levels of daily physical activity, with only 19% of the study sample engaging in 60 min of physical activity daily. Child age and functionality were significant predictors of meeting physical activity guidelines among children within the sample. Conclusions The findings of this study highlight the potentially limiting view of physical activity participation when diagnosis type is considered alone and demonstrate the importance of considering function and other individual factors as significant predictors of physical activity among children with disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of video modeling on Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3) performance among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Thirteen participants with ASD were assessed under two separate TGMD-3 protocol conditions—traditional and video modeling. Raters were blind to the protocol condition they were observing in order to prevent bias towards one condition. Total gross motor scores were analyzed using a one-way repeated-measures ANOVA. While improvements in overall gross motor scores with the video modeling condition were observed among children with ASD, differences were not statistically significant. Additionally, the video modeling condition took significantly longer time to complete than the traditional approach. The results do not provide support for the use of video modeling to improve TGMD-3 motor performance scores. Future research is necessary considering the promotion and use of video modeling is increasing.

Research has shown that visual practices can be beneficial when working with children with autism spectrum disorder. Visual supports have been used for various objectives such as to improve social and communication skills, decrease time spent off task, and improve participation experiences in physical education. The purpose of this paper is to present two types of visual support systems 'picture-based systems and video modeling' aimed to guide and inform professionals as they work with children with ASD in physical activity and physical education settings. Practical examples and step-by-step instructions of interventions for physical activity environments are also provided.