The Remedial Values of Adaptive Ball Types for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Previous studies in the area of motor impairments in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have warranted an urgent need to review interventions that support fundamental movement skills (FMS). This paper intends to investigate the effectiveness of adaptive ball types used within Physical Education (PE) on the object control proficiency (a subgroup of FMS), in children with ASDs. Following pilot work, 12 children (aged 14.70 ± 2.70) performed four object control tasks (throwing, catching, kicking and soccer style dribbling), using three different ball types (the Developmental Ball, an underweight ball and a control ball). A repeated measures ANOVA was run to statically analyse performance scores. The ANOVA indicated that the type of ball used (f(2,22) 22.798, p<0.001), activity undertaken (f(3,33)= 12.377, p<0.01) and the interaction between the two (f(6,66)=-70.163, p<0.01) ultimately, had a significant effect on motor proficiency. Moreover, the Developmental Ball proved to be consistently beneficial across the object control skills, with post hoc t-tests showing strong significance against the underweight ball in kicking (t(11)=-3,031, p<0. 033) and soccer style dribbling (t(11)=-8.603, p<0.016). This paper concludes Skogstad’s creation to be an invaluable blueprint for the development of fundamental object control skills, in children with ASDs.