Physical Activity and ASD
We all know that physical activity is good for us. In this article, the authors seek to find out if physical activity provides any academic benefit to children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In this study three kindergarten boys with ASD were evaluated on how physical activity effected their ability to complete a journal writing activity after circle time activities while in a general education classroom (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 407).
After a baseline was established, using the activities the teachers had normally utilized, a randomly selected activity was put in place. Every day the teacher picked a piece of paper from a cup that had one of three options on it: yoga, dance party, or reading a book (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 408). These activities took place during the last five minutes of circle time. During the yoga option, teachers modeled yoga poses that the students picked from picture cards (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 408). The dance party option had the teacher perform dance moves that the children mimicked with music provided by the study authors (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 408). Reading a book was just a quiet time where the students listened to a story. Everyday all three options were available, unless the same option had been picked two days in a row. Then that option was removed to try to get a good sample (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 408).
After the activity the students were required to complete a journal activity that took approximately seven minutes. Teachers tracked behavior during this time to measure how much time was spent on task. There were large increases in on-task behavior for all three students when the yoga or dance party option were selected (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 412). Teachers also reported these activities were easy to incorporate in the classroom, and all students commented they enjoyed the yoga and dance party activities (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 413).
Some students I work with have ASD, and while their classroom teacher does not incorporate these techniques, I frequently take these students for walks around the school to try to help them get back on task. Attention and flapping behaviors improve after these short bouts of physical activity, so I can understand the results from this study. I am a firm believer that everyone needs to get some physical energy out during the day regardless of ability level.
In our textbook, the author notes that students with ASD have trouble with socially appropriate behavior (McLeskey, Rosenberg, & Westling, 2013, p. 118). Since this study took place in a general education classroom, the students with ASD were given the opportunity to see peers engaged in appropriate behavior. Not only were they able to get some of the physical energy out during this experiment, but they were allowed to practice these appropriate behaviors while students without disabilities did the exact same thing.
While this article was very useful, it also had limitations. Obviously a sample of only three students with ASD makes it difficult to make assumptions on larger populations. However, the techniques themselves seem to hold promise. Especially when teachers believed it was something that could easily be woven into lesson plans. Another positive is that all of the students seemed to enjoy adding physical activities to their day. Even if the on-task behaviors are influenced for a short window, it seems that physical activity can be beneficial.
McLeskey, J., Rosenberg, M. S., & Westling, D. L., (2013). Inclusion: Effective practices for all students. 2nd ed. Pearson Education Inc.
Miramontez, S. K. H., Schwartz, I. S., (2016). The effects of physical activity on the on-task behavior of young children with autism spectrum disorders. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education 9(2), 405-418.
After a baseline was established, using the activities the teachers had normally utilized, a randomly selected activity was put in place. Every day the teacher picked a piece of paper from a cup that had one of three options on it: yoga, dance party, or reading a book (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 408). These activities took place during the last five minutes of circle time. During the yoga option, teachers modeled yoga poses that the students picked from picture cards (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 408). The dance party option had the teacher perform dance moves that the children mimicked with music provided by the study authors (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 408). Reading a book was just a quiet time where the students listened to a story. Everyday all three options were available, unless the same option had been picked two days in a row. Then that option was removed to try to get a good sample (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 408).
After the activity the students were required to complete a journal activity that took approximately seven minutes. Teachers tracked behavior during this time to measure how much time was spent on task. There were large increases in on-task behavior for all three students when the yoga or dance party option were selected (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 412). Teachers also reported these activities were easy to incorporate in the classroom, and all students commented they enjoyed the yoga and dance party activities (Miramontez & Schwartz, 2015, p. 413).
Some students I work with have ASD, and while their classroom teacher does not incorporate these techniques, I frequently take these students for walks around the school to try to help them get back on task. Attention and flapping behaviors improve after these short bouts of physical activity, so I can understand the results from this study. I am a firm believer that everyone needs to get some physical energy out during the day regardless of ability level.
In our textbook, the author notes that students with ASD have trouble with socially appropriate behavior (McLeskey, Rosenberg, & Westling, 2013, p. 118). Since this study took place in a general education classroom, the students with ASD were given the opportunity to see peers engaged in appropriate behavior. Not only were they able to get some of the physical energy out during this experiment, but they were allowed to practice these appropriate behaviors while students without disabilities did the exact same thing.
While this article was very useful, it also had limitations. Obviously a sample of only three students with ASD makes it difficult to make assumptions on larger populations. However, the techniques themselves seem to hold promise. Especially when teachers believed it was something that could easily be woven into lesson plans. Another positive is that all of the students seemed to enjoy adding physical activities to their day. Even if the on-task behaviors are influenced for a short window, it seems that physical activity can be beneficial.
McLeskey, J., Rosenberg, M. S., & Westling, D. L., (2013). Inclusion: Effective practices for all students. 2nd ed. Pearson Education Inc.
Miramontez, S. K. H., Schwartz, I. S., (2016). The effects of physical activity on the on-task behavior of young children with autism spectrum disorders. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education 9(2), 405-418.
Of course I think this is a great article! Even though this was a small study group it seemed to shed positive light on the correlation of physical activity and students with ASD. I truly believe that physical activity can increase attentiveness and improve student behavior. For example, teachers in my school will bring a student down to the gym that needs to run laps. Their goal is to decrease the students stress, anxiety, to help stop an episode, and increase their focus. I have seen the impacts of physical activity and students with ASD work first hand. I also agree that I would like to see a bigger study group to provide more concrete evidence.
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ReplyDeleteVERY interesting study! Yes, the small sample size is always a down-side, but you will find that many special education studies use a design called "Single-Subject Design"--meaning the studies only include a few students. This is done for many reasons....often times it can be hard to get a sample within the same structure, or find participants with similar characteristics. In my dissertation study right now (focus on Autism and Social Stories) I only have 5 participants. So a challenge will be of course generalizing the results, but these studies also add to the body of literature on evidenced-based practices.
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