Kish International Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Departments of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Games Health J. 2021 Feb;10(1):33-42. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2019.0180. Epub 2020 Dec 23.
This study aims at investigating the effects of two types of interventions, Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK) and exergaming (Kinect), on motor skills (MS) and executive functions (EF) in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sixty children, aged 6-10 years were randomly assigned to SPARK ( = 20), Kinect ( = 20), or a control group ( = 20). Children's MS and EF were assessed before and after the intervention. The SPARK and Kinect groups participated in an 8-week intervention; the control group received treatment as usual. Intention-to-treat repeated-measures ANOVA was used to examine the effects of the intervention. For MS, a significant group X time interaction was observed for aiming and catching skills [(2, 53) = 4.12, < 0.05]; the SPARK group improved significantly from pre- to post-test compared with the other groups. For EF, a main effect of group was found for correct responses [(2, 53) = 5.43, < 0.01]. The Kinect group showed more correct responses than the SPARK and control groups. A main effect of time was significant for conceptual responses [(1, 53) = 10.61, < 0.01] and perseverative errors [(1, 53) = 14.31, < 0.01]. This study suggests that structured physical activity (PA) interventions that target specific MS improve motor function in children with ASD and exergaming could be effective for improving EF. Future research is needed to untangle the interaction between the type of exercise, traditional PA versus exergaming, and the dose associated with improvements in MS and EF in children with ASD.
本研究旨在探讨两种干预措施，即运动、游戏和积极娱乐（SPARK）和运动游戏（Kinect），对自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童运动技能（MS）和执行功能（EF）的影响。60 名 6-10 岁的儿童被随机分配到 SPARK（n=20）、Kinect（n=20）或对照组（n=20）。在干预前后评估儿童的 MS 和 EF。SPARK 和 Kinect 组参加了为期 8 周的干预；对照组接受常规治疗。采用意向治疗重复测量方差分析检验干预的效果。对于 MS，瞄准和接球技能的组间时间交互作用显著[（2, 53）=4.12，p<0.05]；与其他组相比，SPARK 组从预测试到后测试显著提高。对于 EF，组间存在显著的主效应，表现为正确反应[（2, 53）=5.43，p<0.01]。Kinect 组的正确反应多于 SPARK 组和对照组。时间的主效应在概念反应[（1, 53）=10.61，p<0.01]和持续错误[（1, 53）=14.31，p<0.01]上显著。本研究表明，针对特定 MS 的结构化体育活动（PA）干预可改善 ASD 儿童的运动功能，运动游戏可能对改善 EF 有效。需要进一步研究以阐明运动类型（传统 PA 与运动游戏）、剂量与 ASD 儿童 MS 和 EF 改善之间的相互作用。
