A randomized parent-mediated physical activity intervention for autistic children.
Coach parents to run 12-week home-based physical activity sessions—kids gained large motor-skill improvements versus waitlist.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers asked parents to run 12-week home-based physical activity sessions for kids with autism. Half met a coach in person. Half watched videos and used an app. A third group waited.
Parents got balls, cones, and a phone app. Coaches showed how to teach jumping, kicking, and balance. Families played 30 minutes a day, four days a week.
What they found
Kids in the in-person group gained large motor-skill improvements. The online group showed medium to small gains. The wait-list kids barely changed.
Locomotor skills like running and hopping improved the most. Ball skills like throwing and catching also rose.
How this fits with other research
Malucelli et al. (2021) also ran 12-week parent coaching, but used the ESDM clinic model. They saw developmental gains, proving a dozen weeks is enough time for parent-led change.
Silva et al. (2025) coached parents online with simple slides and saw big jumps in communication. Waldron et al. (2023) adds equipment and an app, showing remote coaching can work for motor skills too.
Pitetti et al. (2007) used treadmills in a center for teens. Waldron et al. (2023) shifts the work to parents at home for younger kids, keeping the same positive exercise theme.
Why it matters
You can teach parents to be the coach. Give them clear videos, cheap toys, and a phone app. In one quarter you can boost running, jumping, and ball play without clinic visits. Try starting sessions with a quick video model, then let parents lead while you fade.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the immediate and post effects of a parent-mediated physical activity intervention on the fundamental motor skills of autistic children. We randomly assigned parent-child dyads (n = 31) of autistic children aged 4-11 years into three groups (workshop, an online, or control group). Each dyad participated in a 12-week intervention and was given adapted physical activity equipment and over 200 activities via a mobile application. Children were tested at the start and end of the intervention. The effect size (Cohen's d ) of the control group for pre-post locomotor and ball skill scores were 0.12 and 0.06, respectively, indicating small effect size. The effect size of the online group for pre-post locomotor and ball skill scores were 49 and 0.26, respectively, indicating medium and small effect sizes. The effect size of the in-person group for pre-post locomotor and ball skill scores were 1.18 and 0.82, respectively, indicating large effect sizes. The outcomes of this physical activity intervention suggest that parents may facilitate the acquisition of fundamental motor skills of their autistic children. Although these results are positive, there is a need to further identify effective interventions for fundamental motor skill development in autistic children. Clinical Trials ID: NCT05159102.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2023 · doi:10.1002/aur.2969