Effects of Motor Interventions on Executive Functioning and Negative Behaviors of Children with Autism.

• In Event: Social-Emotional Skills, Regulation, and Flexibility in Children with Developmental Disabilities and Parents

Abstract

Background: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) present with executive functioning (EF) challenges and engage in repetitive behaviors. Repetitive behaviors such as sensori-motor stereotypies and negative behaviors (NBs) are known to be associated with children’s executive functioning skills. Previous studies have reported positive effects of movement interventions on the executive functioning skills of individuals with or without ASD (Su et al., 2022). In the current pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT), we compared the effects of Creative Movement (CM, using music and movement), General Movement (GM, focusing on strength and locomotor skills), and Sedentary Play interventions (SP, using building and art activities, standard of care) on EF and NBs of children with ASD.
Objectives: We compared the effects of CM, GM, and SP interventions on the executive functioning skills of children with ASD and investigated the relationships between EF skills and rates of NBs.
Methods: Forty-five children with ASD between 6 and 14 years were recruited and randomly assigned to the CM, GM, or SP groups. Children in all three groups received 16 training sessions (2 sessions/week), over 8 weeks. The CM group engaged in whole-body movements using music, dance, and yoga to promote interpersonal synchrony, imitation, coordination, and balance; the GM group engaged in physical activity that focused on upper/lower-limb strength and locomotor skills; the SP group engaged in tabletop activities such as reading, building, and art-craft to promote social interactions and fine-motor skills. Each child completed the Flanker task assessing inhibitory control (i.e., point accuracy and reaction time (RT) during congruent (CONG) and incongruent (INCONG) conditions) before and after the intervention. We also coded children’s rates of negative behaviors during an early and late training session. Within- and between-group t-tests were conducted to study intervention effects on executive functioning and negative behaviors. Pearson correlations were conducted to investigate the relationships between EF (RT and response accuracy) and NBs at baseline and for intervention changes across both domains.
Results: At baseline, children with better executive functioning (i.e., shorter reaction times) had fewer negative behaviors during training (RT during CONG: r = 0.43, RT during INCONG: r = 0.30). Both movement groups (CM and GM) showed improvements in executive functioning following training and were combined in the following analyses. Specifically, both movement groups showed similar response accuracy but reduced RT during CONG and INCONG post-intervention (*ps < 0.05). Similar training effects were not seen in the SP group (p > 0.05). Moreover, the intervention-related reduction in RT was greater in the movement groups compared to the SP group (*ps< 0.05).
Conclusions: These findings replicate associations between executive functioning and repetitive/negative behaviors in children with ASD. Moreover, they support the use of movement interventions in promoting executive functioning skills and regulating negative behaviors of children with ASD. Clinicians should consider adding whole-body movements to the standard of care for children with ASD.

Authors

• Wan-chun Su
  Presenting Author

• Corina Cleffi, University of Delaware

• Sudha M Srinivasan, University of Connecticut

• Anjana N Bhat, University of Delaware