Improving motor skills and psychosocial behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder through an adapted judo program

Jose Morales; Emanuela Pierantozzi; David H Fukuda; Vanessa Garcia; Miriam Guerra-Balic; Marta Sevilla-Sánchez; Eduardo Carballeira

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1067310

Improving motor skills and psychosocial behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder through an adapted judo program

Front Psychol. 2022 Nov 29:13:1067310. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1067310. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jose Morales¹, Emanuela Pierantozzi², David H Fukuda³, Vanessa Garcia¹, Miriam Guerra-Balic¹, Marta Sevilla-Sánchez⁴, Eduardo Carballeira⁴

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Psychology, Education Sciences and Sport Blanquerna, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, Spain.
² Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
³ School of Kinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United States.
⁴ Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, University of A Coruña, Oleiros, Spain.

Abstract

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of an adapted judo program on the motor skills and psychosocial abilities of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Methods: All participants had been diagnosed with ASD and were assessed twice, one time at the start of the intervention and again 6 months later, with the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-3) and the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Third Edition (GARS-3). A one-way repeated measures MANOVA was carried out in order to evaluate these assessments, and a mediation analysis was done to determine the relationship between them.

Results: The experimental group significantly improved (p < 0.05) from the pre-test to the post-test for several subtests of the TGMD-3 and the GARS-3.

Conclusion: The study shows that participation in an adapted judo program clearly helps to improve the motor skills and psychosocial behaviors of children with ASD.

Keywords: ASD; GARS; TGMD; adapted sports; combat sports; intellectual disabilities.

Associated data

figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.20465337