Comparison of physical activity between children with autism spectrum disorders and typically developing children.
Belt counts say kids with ASD move as hard as peers, but parents report fewer kinds of play and less total time—so probe for variety and teach new games.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Miltenberger et al. (2013) strapped accelerometers on the kids. Half had autism, half were typical peers . For seven days the belt counted every moderate-to-vigorous minute. Parents also filled a log listing each sport or game the child tried in the past year.
The team then compared the belt numbers with the parent lists.
What they found
The belts told a surprise: both groups clocked the same amount of moderate-to-vigorous activity each day. Yet the parent papers disagreed. Moms and dads of kids with ASD listed fewer kinds of sports and fewer total yearly hours.
So the kids moved just as hard, but in narrower ways and for less total time.
How this fits with other research
Pan (2008) looked at recess belts in Taiwan and saw less MVPA in ASD. The new study found equal MVPA. The gap is setting: recess forces free play, while whole-day wear captures structured PE or therapy slots.
Coffey et al. (2021) adds the next layer. They tested the kids and found ASD bodies scored lower on sprint, jump and grip strength. Equal belt minutes do not equal equal fitness.
Pickard et al. (2019) meta-analysis shows group sports give small social gains but zero communication boost. Taken together, kids with ASD move enough to sweat, yet still need help widening the menu of activities and building motor skill.
Why it matters
Do not trust belt data alone. Ask parents, “What sports did you try this year?” If the list is short, add variety: swim, martial arts, family walks. Use task-analyzed steps to teach new motor skills and keep the fun going longer.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Regular physical activity is important for promoting health and well-being; however, physical activity behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have received little attention. We compared physical activity levels among 53 children with ASD and 58 typically developing children aged 3-11 years who participated in the Children's Activity and Meal Patterns Study (CHAMPS). After adjustment for age and sex the amount of time spent daily in moderate and vigorous activity was similar in children with ASD (50.0 minutes/day and typically developing children 57.1 minutes/day). However, parents reported that children with ASD participated in significantly fewer types of physical activities than did typically developing children (6.9 vs. 9.6, p <.0001) and spent less time annually participating in these activities than typically developing children (158 vs. 225 hours per year, p < 0.0001) after adjusting for age and sex. Although both groups of children engaged in similar levels of moderate and vigorous activity as measured by accelerometry, children with ASD engaged in fewer physical activities and for less time according to parental report, suggesting that some of the activity in children with ASD is not captured by standard questionnaire-based measures.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2013 · doi:10.1177/1362361312437416