Mental Health Services, ATD 9033 Attard, Malta.
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 5;19(11):6906. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19116906.
(1) Background: Physical activity is important for children with autism spectrum disorder. This study aimed to analyse autistic children's and their parents' preferences between group and individual physical activity, while exploring potential social barriers that they might encounter. (2) Methods: Retrospective analysis identified 701 new referrals received by the Maltese national child and adolescent mental health service, between 2016 and 2017. Of them, 24 received a sole diagnosis of autism and 10 were chosen via purposive sampling. A semi-structured interview guide was created, including readability testing, translation/back-translation, inter-rater agreements, and focus group testing. Parents were informed, consented, interviewed and thematic analysis carried out. Further quantitative data were tabled accordingly. (3) Results: Only one child met World Health Organisation recommendations for physical activity. More children preferred individual sports while parents described more benefits with group sports. Parents' perceived benefits with group sports included better socialization, while improved levels of self-esteem and coping with anxiety were highlighted benefits for individual sports. Parents felt misunderstood, burnt out, and described a lack of autism-friendly sports facilities, including geographical disproportionation of adequate facilities on the island. Too much screen time was a major parental concern. (4) Conclusion: Recommendations aim to develop sport therapy systems and well-resourced services in Malta. Staff training is recommended to improve service quality.
(1) 背景：身体活动对自闭症谱系障碍儿童很重要。本研究旨在分析自闭症儿童及其父母对群体和个体身体活动的偏好，同时探讨他们可能遇到的潜在社会障碍。
(2) 方法：回顾性分析确定了 2016 年至 2017 年间马耳他国家儿童和青少年心理健康服务机构收到的 701 例新转介病例。其中，24 例被单独诊断为自闭症，10 例通过目的性抽样选择。创建了一份半结构化访谈指南，包括可读性测试、翻译/回译、评分者间一致性和焦点小组测试。告知家长并获得同意后对其进行访谈和主题分析。进一步的定量数据相应列示。
(3) 结果：只有一个孩子符合世界卫生组织的身体活动建议。更多的孩子更喜欢个人运动，而父母则描述了更多的团体运动的好处。父母认为团体运动的好处包括更好的社交能力，而个人运动的好处则包括提高自尊心和应对焦虑。父母感到被误解、疲惫不堪，并描述了缺乏适合自闭症的体育设施，包括岛上适当设施的地理分布不均。过多的屏幕时间是家长的主要关注点。
(4) 结论：建议旨在制定马耳他的运动治疗系统和资源充足的服务。建议进行员工培训以提高服务质量。
