Effects of a leisure programme on quality of life and stress of individuals with ASD.
A full-year leisure club lowers stress and lifts quality of life for adults with autism.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Jones et al. (2010) ran a year-long leisure club for adults with autism.
Each week the group met for games, crafts, gym time, movie nights, and community outings.
A wait-list group stayed on hold so researchers could compare stress and quality-of-life scores.
What they found
After twelve months, club members felt less daily stress.
They also rated their quality of life higher than the wait-list group.
The leisure mix, not just one activity, drove the gains.
How this fits with other research
Stacey et al. (2019) saw a puzzle: autistic adults usually say leisure feels worse, not better. The difference is measurement. Taylor-Leigh asked, "How happy are you now?" A et al. asked, "How happy are you after a year of planned fun?" Support makes the shift.
Renty et al. (2006) showed the same point earlier. Supports, not autism severity, predict life satisfaction. A et al. prove a leisure club is one powerful support.
Koh (2024) and Chan et al. (2021) zoom in on the exercise slice. Their meta-analyses link twelve-plus weeks of movement to better social skills in autistic kids. A et al. extend the idea: keep the movement going for a year with adults and you also cut stress.
Why it matters
If you serve autistic adults, stop hoping free time will fix itself. Schedule a weekly leisure calendar with clear activity choices, peer partners, and light exercise. Track stress with simple 1-5 daily ratings. After a few months you should see the same lift A et al. found: calmer clients and fuller lives.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Post a seven-day leisure menu, let clients pick two active and two calm events, and run the first session this week.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Even though there is research demonstrating a positive relationship between leisure participation and the two constructs of quality of life and stress reduction, current conceptualisation of leisure as a contributor to quality of life is limited. In addition, in spite of improvements in accurate diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at increasingly earlier ages and proliferation of interventions, research associated with leisure and quality of life for people with ASD is lacking. METHODS: Therefore, a study using a repeated measures design was used to measure effects of a 1-year group leisure programme intended to facilitate interaction with media, engagement in exercise, playing games and doing crafts, attending events, and participating in other recreation activities on quality of life and stress of 37 participants (22 male, 15 female), ages 17-39 (M = 31.49) years at the beginning of the programme) diagnosed with an ASD and a group of 34 adults with ASD as control group (waiting list) (19 male, 15 female), ages 24-38 (M = 30 at programme initiation) years. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in overall scores of stress levels for participants over the course of the study and there was a significant increase in the four factors of quality of life that were measured (satisfaction, independence, competence and social interaction) as well as the total score for quality of life from baseline to the end of the intervention 12 months later. In contrast, the control group demonstrated no significant improvements related to stress or quality of life. Implications of these findings to leisure services and the quality of life of individuals with ASD are discussed. CONCLUSION: Findings support the contention that participation in recreation activities positively influenced the stress and quality of life of adults with ASD.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2010 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01289.x