The Effect of a Trampoline Exercise Program on Improving the Perceptual-Motor Function of Classical Low-Functioning Autistic Children

One of the most common disorders in low-functioning autistic children is neuropsychological disability. Disorders of perceptual-motor motions are signs of this disability in children, and motor behavior experts believe that the development of perceptual skills in children with low-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can pave the way for further improvements in motor skills. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of a selected trampoline exercise program on the perceptual-motor skills of low-functioning autistic children. For this purpose, ۲۰ children with low-functioning ASD who were present in the Behdad autism center of Ahvaz city were randomly selected by the convenience and purposive method and using the of Bruninks-Oseretsky perceptual-motor skills test, the pre-test was performed in both groups and then randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The tool measures eight subscales of perceptual-motor skills, including general static coordination, general dynamic coordination, manual coordination, motor rate and agility, balance, strength, response rate, simultaneous and non-simultaneous asymmetric voluntary motions, motor vision control. The experimental group performed trampoline exercises for ۶ weeks and ۶ days a week for a total of ۳۲ sessions. At this phase, the control group was involved in daily activities. Finally, post-test was performed in both groups. The results of data analysis showed that there was no difference between control and experimental groups in any of the perceptual-motor subscales in pre-test. However, in the post-test, the experimental group was significantly better than the control group in all subscales. These results suggest that a trampoline exercise program can play an effective role in the comprehensive development of perceptual-motor skills of autistic children. The results of the present study can be used by physical education instructors and officials of rehabilitation centers.

کلیدواژه ها:

ASD ، Perceptual-Motor Function ، Balance ، Coordination ، Trampoline