Time Limited Benefits of Physical and Proprioceptive Training on Physical Fitness Components in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

In this study, we explored the immediate and three-month follow-up effects of physical training on physical fitness in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We randomly assigned 20 children with ASD (age 8-11 years) into an experimental group (EG; = 10) and a control group (CG; = 10). The EG participated in an 8-week training program involving both strength and proprioceptive exercises (three 60-minute sessions/week), while the CG simply maintained their daily activities. We assessed physical fitness components for each participant at baseline, post-training, and at a 3-month follow-up. The physical training intervention significantly improved physical fitness of these children with ASD in terms of their flexibility ( < .001; 32.46%), lower limbs strength ( = .003; 36.98%), lower body power ( < .001; 41.78%) and functional mobility ( < .001; 25.56%). However, these addition training-induced gains were lost at follow-up for lower limbs strength ( < .001), flexibility ( < .001), and functional mobility ( = .034)). Physical training was effective for improving physical fitness in children with ASD, but the loss of these gains at three months follow-up underscored the need for continuous physical exercise.