| Description |
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is now the highest-incidence developmental disability among various kinds of disabilities and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of individuals with ASD is still increasing. Furthermore, a number of researchers have found that individuals with ASD have movement difficulties, including deficits in motor coordination, gait, and balance, as well as deficits in social skills, which lead them to participate less in physical activity and limit their ability to be successful in certain activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using immediate reinforcement in the form of watching a selected DVD to motivate children with ASD to ride on a stationary recumbent bicycle. Seven participants aged 7 to 15 years who were diagnosed with ASD and were enrolled in the U-FIT Program at the University of Utah participated in the study. The participants were randomly selected into either Group A (n = 3) or Group B (n = 4). They participated in the intervention once a week for 5 weeks. Participants in Group A were allowed to watch their selected DVD while pedaling in their target heart rate zone (THRZ) for the first 2 weeks. During the second 2 weeks, they were asked to pedal in their THRZ but were not allowed to watch a DVD. Participants in Group B were asked to pedal in their THRZ without watching the DVD for the first 2 weeks, then for the second 2 weeks, they were allowed to watch their selected DVD while pedaling in their THRZ. Results indicated that all participants in both Group A and Group B experienced significant iv improvement in duration of time pedaling in their THRZ while watching their selected DVD (p = 0.01), and that the testing order did not have a statistically significant effect on duration of time pedaling in each participant's THRZ (p = 0.912). Moreover, the interaction effect was not statistically significant (p = 0.936). As a result, the findings of this research support the use of selected DVDs as a reinforcement to motivate individuals with ASD to participate in physical activity. |
