A quarterly publication of the Autism Research Institute
Winter, 2017 | Number 1, Volume 31
Extended sessions of aerobic exercise can dramatically reduce behavior problems in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other behavioral issues, a new study indicates.
In a 14-week study, April Bowling and colleagues randomly assigned 103 students at a therapeutic day school to participate in regular physical education (PE) classes or a seven-week program of aerobic cybercycling. At the end of the first seven weeks, participants switched groups. All participants were between 7 and 16 years of age.
During the intervention, the children cycled twice weekly during PE classes. The cycles included video screens allowing the children to ride different courses, play games, and engage in other activities while cycling. Control students participated in the standard PE curriculum, which focused primarily on socialization, team skills, and motor skills and did not provide extended bouts of aerobic exercise.
“Across the intervention period,” the researchers report, “odds that children would display clinically disruptive behaviors, including impulsivity and emotional lability, were 32% to 51% lower than during the control condition. These effects strengthened on days when children participated in an intervention cybercycling class; here, odds of disruptive levels of behavioral dysregulation declined between 71% and 76% relative to the control condition.” In addition, children in the cybercycling group spent significantly less time out of the classroom due to behavioral issues.
The researchers say, “Aerobic cybercycling PE shows promise for improving self-regulation and classroom functioning among children with complex behavioral health disorders. This school-based exercise intervention may significantly improve child behavioral health without increasing parental burden or health care costs, or disrupting academic schedules.”
“Cybercycling effects on classroom behavior in children with behavioral health disorders: an RCT,” April Bowling, James Slavet, Daniel P. Miller, Sebastien Haneuse, William Beardslee, and Kirsten Davison, Pediatrics, January 2017 (free online). Address: April Bowling, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Ave., Building 2, Room 320, Boston, MA 02115, [email protected]. edu.
