Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Doctorate in Tehran University
2 Department of Physical Education, University of Payam Noor, Iran
3 گروه تربیت بدنی و علوم ورزشی، دانشگاه پیام نور، ایران
4 Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Payam Noor University, Iran
Abstract
Children with autism have low levels of cognitive function. Since physical activity has positive effects on cognition and well-being, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of intervention based on open and closed motor skills on the sustained and selective attention of high-functioning autistic children in a study with a one-month follow-up. For this purpose, 45 children with high-functioning autism, aged 8 to 10 years, were selected from Tehran and, after completing a pre-test (continuous performance test and Stroop word color test), were randomly classified into three open, closed motor skills intervention and control groups. Experimental groups performed the desired training program for 12 sessions and 60 minutes each session, during which the control group performed their daily activities. Finally, after the last post-test training session and 24 hours after the post-test, a note was made and the results were recorded. The results of combined analysis of variance test showed that the effect of open and closed skills training on stable (p=0.001) and selective (p=0.001) attention of participants was significant. In addition, in pairwise comparison, the results showed that in the follow-up (p=0.001) and post-test (p=0.001), the performance of the open skills training group was significantly higher than the closed and control skills training group. According to the findings, it seems that the use of open and closed motor skills training can be a useful intervention for the attention processes of children with autism spectrum disorders.
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