Examining the impact of physical activity on sleep quality and executive functions in children with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized controlled trial

Autism ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 1699-1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Choi Yeung Andy Tse ◽  
Hong Paul Lee ◽  
Ka Shing Kevin Chan ◽  
Veronica Bordes Edgar ◽  
Alison Wilkinson-Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Sleep Onset ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sleep Onset Latency ◽  
The Impact

Sleep disturbance and executive dysfunction have been widely reported in children with autism spectrum disorder. While the positive impacts of physical activity on sleep quality and cognition are documented in children with typical development, similar studies in children with autism spectrum disorder are scarce. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of physical activity on sleep quality and cognition in children with autism spectrum disorder. A total of 40 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (mean age = 9.95 years) were randomly assigned into two groups: physical activity intervention and control. Four sleep parameters (sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, sleep duration, and wake after sleep onset) and two executive functions (inhibition control and working memory) were assessed. Results revealed a significant improvement in sleep efficiency, sleep onset latency, and sleep duration in the intervention group but not in the control group during weekdays. Moreover, a significant improvement in inhibitory control was shown in the intervention group but not in the control group. No significant improvement in working memory capacity was documented in either group ( ps > 0.05). Our findings highlight the value of physical activity in improving sleep quality and cognition among children with autism spectrum disorder, but specific physical activity may be required to benefit individual executive functions.

579 Child Sleep Onset Latency Mediates Parental Depression and Non-Compliance in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A228-A228
Author(s):  
Melanie Stearns ◽  
Braden Hayse ◽  
Neetu Nair ◽  
Micah Mazurek ◽  
Ashley Curtis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sleep Onset ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Parental Depression ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sleep Onset Latency ◽  
Onset Latency ◽  
Child Sleep ◽  
Falling Asleep

Abstract Introduction Parents who have been diagnosed with depression often report that their children are not compliant and have difficulty falling asleep. Parents with depression are less likely to be consistent or enforce bedtimes resulting in the child having less bedtime rules and getting less sleep. Overtime this may mean the child develops poor sleep habits and difficulty falling asleep. Although these relationships have yet to be studied in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it is an important area given the high prevalence of children with ASD who have sleep difficulties. The current study examined whether parent-reported child sleep onset latency mediated the relationship between parental depression and child non-compliance. Methods The sample (N=50) consisted of parents (81% female) reporting on their children aged 6–12 (M=8.63, SD = 2.00; 76% male). All children were diagnosed with ASD and had parent reported sleep complaints. Children and their parents were recruited because they expressed interest in a behavioral treatment sleep study and these data come from the baseline data collection associated with that study. Measures included sleep onset latency on the Child Sleep Health Questionnaire (CSHQ), an item on the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) which asked if a child follows rules, and a question asking if the parent had been diagnosed with depression. Results Analyses were conducting using AMOS 27.0. Slightly less than half (45%) of parents reported having been diagnosed with depression. Parent-reported child sleep onset latency significantly mediated (β =.13) the relation between parental depression and non-compliance. Parents who had been diagnosed with depression were associated with greater child sleep onset latency (β =.32, p = .04) and greater child sleep onset latency was associated with greater non-compliance (β =.40, p = .01). The direct effect between parental depression and non-compliance was not significant. Conclusion These results suggest that difficulty falling asleep may help to explain why children of parents who have depression are not compliant. Future research should utilize longitudinal and experimental methodology to determine the causality of these relationships. Support (if any) University of Missouri Research Board Grant (McCrae, PI); United States Department of Defense USAMRAA Autism Research Program (McCrae, PI; CTA AR190047).

scholarly journals Effect of Daily Physical Activity on Sleep Characteristics in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Sports ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Thai Duy Nguyen ◽  
Michel Guinot ◽  
Véronique-Aurélie Bricout
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Large Individual ◽  
Sedentary Behaviors ◽  
Children With Asd

Background. Sleep problems have been reported in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). One of the methods proposed to improve sleep characteristics is based on physical activity (PA). Objective. To assess characteristics of sleep and the effect of PA level on sleep quality in children with ASD compared to controls. Methods. Fifty boys with ASD (ASD; 10.8 ± 2.6 years) and 18 controls (CONT, 10.1 ± 2.2 years) wore an accelerometer device for five consecutive days to obtain measures of activity and sleep characteristics. Results. Some significant differences were reported between ASD and CONT groups. Wake-up time resistance was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in ASD. Total time for PA, and daily steps number were significantly lower in the ASD group (p < 0.05). Time for sedentary behavior was significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the ASD group. Using a principal component analysis and an agglomerative hierarchical analysis, we observed three clusters. Two showed the same poor-quality indices of sleep but two opposing profiles of PA, either an insufficient PA volume (cluster 1, Total time PA = 75.1 min; Daily steps: 7704) or an important PA volume (cluster 3, Total time PA = 222.1 min; Daily steps: 17,164). Cluster 2 was characterized by moderate participation in PA and children with the best sleep indices (Total time PA = 166.8 min; Daily steps: 12,718). Conclusion. The dose–response effect of exercise on sleep may indicate large individual differences but the present findings are important to prevent sedentary behaviors or to correct over-activity that could be detrimental to the sleep quality in children with ASD.

scholarly journals The Effects of Physical Activity and Exergaming on Motor Skills and Executive Functions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Homa Rafiei Milajerdi ◽  
Mahmoud Sheikh ◽  
Mahboubeh Ghayour Najafabadi ◽  
Behnaz Saghaei ◽  
Naser Naghdi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Motor Skills ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder

scholarly journals The effect of physical activity interventions on development of children with autism spectrum disorder. content-analysis of researches

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 118-125
Author(s):  
I.R. Bodnar ◽  
A.F. Hamade
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Scientific Data ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
The Impact

Background. Heeding the experience of existing research will allow designing future scientific research. This will increase physical activitу (PA), improve physical fitness, maintenance and improvement of health of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD); assist implementation of inclusion in the educational institutions of the country. Purpose - to analyze the content of physical education programs used in attracting children with autism spectrum disorder to physical activity and to find out domains of indicators that should be investigated. Participants and setting. The analysis of scientific articles for 2000-2019 years was done, 48 publications were selected. Research design. A systematic search for scientific data was conducted, articles that were not related to physical activity were not taken into consideration. The search depth was 3 generations. Data collection. The search of documents was carried out in different databases using keywords «autism», «ASD», «physical activity», «fitness». Articles that studied the effect of different means (lesson programs) on the performance of children with ASD were chosen. More than 100 English-language papers for the last 20 years were analyzed. Data analysis. A content analysis of received data was conducted. The reliability of the differences between the frequency of study of aggregates of indicators was clarified using χ-test. Findings. Scientists, studying the impact of programs of PA on children with ASD, often focus on disruptive behavioral models (31%) of these children and on their indicators of physical fitness and motor skills (35%). Most studies analize the effects of a program using one type of PA. Conclusions. Among the existing research, there is a lack of multidimensional and multimodal programs that would combine effective means of PA. The frequency of communication and cognitive performance research (12% and 10% respectively) significantly (p<0.05) lags behind the research of frequency of physical and behavioral indicators in children with ASD (35% and 31% respectively). there is a lack of research that would study different groups of indicators (physical, cognitive and indicators of problem areas of children with ASD, behavioral and communicative) together.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on the Adaptive Functioning, Behavioral Problems, and Repetitive Behaviors of Italian Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Observational Study

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Martina Siracusano ◽  
Eugenia Segatori ◽  
Assia Riccioni ◽  
Leonardo Emberti Gialloreti ◽  
Paolo Curatolo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Adaptive Functioning ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Repetitive Behaviors ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Adaptive Skills ◽  
The Impact

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families have represented a fragile population on which the extreme circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak may have doubly impaired. Interruption of therapeutical interventions delivered in-person and routine disruption constituted some of the main challenges they had to face. This study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on adaptive functioning, behavioral problems, and repetitive behaviors of children with ASD. In a sample of 85 Italian ASD children (mean age 7 years old; 68 males, 17 females), through a comparison with a baseline evaluation performed during the months preceding COVID-19, we evaluated whether after the compulsory home confinement any improvement or worsening was reported by parents of ASD individuals using standardized instruments (Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (Second Edition), Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised). No significant worsening in the adaptive functioning, problematic, and repetitive behaviors emerged after the compulsory home confinement. Within the schooler children, clinical stability was found in reference to both adaptive skills and behavioral aspects, whereas within preschoolers, a significant improvement in adaptive skills emerged and was related to the subsistence of web-delivered intervention, parental work continuance, and online support during the lockdown.

Chapter 19 The impact of robots on children with autism spectrum disorder

2016 ◽  
pp. 397-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi Zheng ◽  
Esubalew Bekele ◽  
Amy Swanson ◽  
Amy Weitlauf ◽  
Zachary Warren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
The Impact

Online Communication Training for Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah N. Douglas ◽  
Rebecca Kammes ◽  
Erica Nordquist
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Parent Training ◽  
Children With Autism ◽  
Online Training ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Probe Design ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
The Impact

Parent training is an essential part of quality programming for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, limited research exists exploring online training approaches to support parents of children with both ASD and complex communication needs (CCN; e.g., limited verbal ability), despite the many benefits that online training might have for these parents and the overall sustainability and scalability of such approaches. This study utilized a single-subject multiple probe design with three parents and their children to explore the impact of online parent training for parents and their children with ASD and CCN. Training included online interactive components to teach parents a communication strategy, as well as live practice sessions during which parents implemented the strategy, had an opportunity to ask questions, and engaged in self-reflection. Results indicated that training increased communication opportunities and responses provided by parents, and communication by the child. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

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