AUTHOR=Morales Jose , Pierantozzi Emanuela , Fukuda David H. , Garcia Vanessa , Guerra-Balic Miriam , Sevilla-Sánchez Marta , Carballeira Eduardo 

TITLE=Improving motor skills and psychosocial behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder through an adapted judo program

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1067310

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1067310

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>This study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of an adapted judo program on the motor skills and psychosocial abilities of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>All participants had been diagnosed with ASD and were assessed twice, one time at the start of the intervention and again 6 months later, with the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-3) and the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-Third Edition (GARS-3). A one-way repeated measures MANOVA was carried out in order to evaluate these assessments, and a mediation analysis was done to determine the relationship between them.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The experimental group significantly improved (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05) from the pre-test to the post-test for several subtests of the TGMD-3 and the GARS-3.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>The study shows that participation in an adapted judo program clearly helps to improve the motor skills and psychosocial behaviors of children with ASD.</p></sec>