Motor behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder with a neurotypical sibling

• Published date: 01 December 2024
• Author: Yuemei Lu,Janet L. Hauck
• Date: 01 December 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.13052

RESEARCH

Motor behaviors in children with autism spectrum

disorder with a neurotypical sibling

Yuemei Lu

1

| Janet L. Hauck

2

1

College of Physical Education and Health,

East China Normal University,

Shanghai, China

2

Department of Kinesiology, College of

Education, Michigan State University, East

Lansing, MI

Correspondence

Yuemei Lu, College of Physical Education and

Health, East China Normal University,

500 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, China.

Email: ymlu@tyxx.ecnu.edu.cn

Abstract

Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder

(ASD) can experience issues in motor development and

fall short of physical activity (PA) recommendations.

Family members, especially parents and siblings, play

important roles in influencing their motor behaviors.

Objective: This study investigated motor behaviors (i.e., levels

of PA, parent-perceived motor competence, and related family

dynamics) in children with ASD during a historical event—the

COVID-19 pandemic—during which most service approaches

were not being used, and children with ASD were staying at

home with their parents and neurotypical (NT) siblings.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 17 ASD–

NT–parent triads (51 participants in total). Motor behav-

iors were all measured by questionnaires and surveys, with

levels of PA also measured objectively using ActiGraph

GT3X. Descriptive analyses were conducted.

Results: Children with ASD participated in more types of

sedentary activities than leisure-time and sports activities.

Parents perceived a low level of motor competence in their

children with ASD, and compared with siblings, they per-

ceived more interactions and higher self-efficacy in

supporting PA in children with ASD.

Conclusion: The findings of this study can be helpful to us as

we evolve our understanding and strategies to influence motor

behaviors in children with ASD, ultimately to advance our

service-delivery model to include family-based approaches.

Implications: This study should inform future ASD studies

of the importance of providing quality family-based

PA/education programs for children with ASD and boo-

sting parents’and NT siblings’self-efficacy in supporting

PA in children with ASD.

KEYWORDS

ASD, COVID-19, family, home, motor competence, physical activity

Received: 7 September 2023 Revised: 26 January 2024 Accepted: 7 May 2024

DOI: 10.1111/fare.13052

© 2024 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2024;73:3549–3566. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 3549

Many aspects of people’s lives were significantly affected by the unprecedented global public

health emergency caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, with special impacts for

children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The pandemic-related changes made it

extremely challenging for many of them to make adaptations at home. Closure of active living

areas such as schools, parks, and recreation centers made it difficult for them to participate in

activities they used to do, resulting in lower levels of physical activity (PA), increased sedentary

behaviors (SB), and declining coordination and balance abilities (Burhaein et al., 2021;

Yarımkaya & Esentürk, 2020). To facilitate participation in PA during the pandemic, it was

suggested that free and unstructured PA could be met by playing with siblings, who were

proven capable of bringing unique advantages in supporting children with ASD (Bene &

Lapina, 2021; Dunton et al., 2020; Lu et al., 2021). However, little is known about motor

behaviors in children with ASD during this historical event, during which most children with

ASD were staying at home with their neurotypical (NT) siblings.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN CHILDREN WITH ASD

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, 2018), preschool children aged 3 to 5 years should be physically

active throughout the day to enhance their growth and development. For children aged

6 through 17 years, 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigoro us PA (MVPA) per day is rec-

ommended. The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommended that at least

60 minutes of MVPA per day is required to enhance growth and development in children aged

5 through 17 years. Further, vigorous PA (VPA) should be incorporated into activities at least

3 days per week. Sedentary time, particularly recreational screen time, should be limited. As per

the guidelines from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2020), it is rec-

ommended that children aged 2 to 5 should restrict noneducational screen time to approxi-

mately 1 hour per weekday and 3 hours on weekends. Additionally, for children aged 6 and

older, fostering healthy habits is encouraged, and there should be limitations on screen-related

activities.

However, the findings by the National Survey of Children’s Health (Child and Adolescent

Health Measurement Initiative, 2016) reported that approximately 76% of children and youth

failed to meet the guidelines. Children and adolescents with ASD engaged in an even lower per-

centage of time in MVPA than their NT peers (McCoy & Morgan, 2020). A study by Memari

et al. (2015) with a sample of 83 children with ASD aged 6 to 17 showed that only 10 partici-

pants (12%) were physically active. Similarly, in a study with 53 children with ASD aged 3 to

11, only 23% of the participants with ASD met the criteria for MVPA (Bandini et al., 2013).

These existing investigations indicated a consensus that individuals with ASD fall short of the

recommended PA levels.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have further affected PA in children with ASD, given that

school-based PA opportunities and interactive play-based therapies were disrupted. A qualita-

tive study conducted by Yarımkaya and Esentürk (2020) revealed that parents reported their

children with ASD exhibited increased SB such as frequent television watching and tablet use.

Another study by Demirci and Phytanza (2021) asked 64 parents of children with ASD to fill

out an online questionnaire, and their findings showed that 68.75% of them watched TV for

more than 2 hours and 60.94% of them never exercised in a week. Another study by Phytanza,

Mumpuniarti, and colleagues (2021) used Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children,

which includes nine 5-point scale questions about PA (very high, high, medium, low, very low).

They concluded that the levels of PA in individuals with ASD during the pandemic were mostly

in the low category.

3550 FAMILY RELATIONS