ArticleFrontiers in behavioral neuroscience2020
Beneficial Use and Potential Effectiveness of Physical Activity in Managing Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Article in Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of physical activity on motor, communication, social, and executive function in children with autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.European journal of pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- The Effect of Physical Activity on Motor Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Sports and physical activity interventions in autism spectrum disorder: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Physical activity and social adaptation in high school students: the chain mediating roles of interpersonal relationships and psychological resilience.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Motor skills influence social function through health-related fitness in children with autism: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Breaking the Cycle: Impact of Physical Activity on Sleep Disorders in Autism-A Five-Year Longitudinal Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Gut-brain-immune axis implications for mental health and disease.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2025Review
- Self-perceived physical fitness and occurrences of individual levels of autistic traits in adolescents: a cluster association study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Objective Physical Activity and Health-Related Fitness in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Typically Developing Children: A Gender Study.International journal of school health · 2025Article
- Physical activity and addressing emotional needs can help reduce medication dependence in autism.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- Positive effects of physical activity in autism spectrum disorder: how influences behavior, metabolic disorder and gut microbiota.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
- Early Motor Signs in Autism Spectrum Disorder.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Associations of emotional/behavioral problems with accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior, physical activity and step counts in children with autism spectrum disorder.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Bibliometric analysis of research trends of physical activity intervention for autism spectrum disorders.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by poor social and communication skills. Therapeutic interventions are behavioral and educational-normally delivered as structured programs. Several well-established programs exist and most of them do not incorporate physical activity and exercise as core elements. Deficiencies in motor skills are associated with ASD and physical activity has been shown to reduce maladaptive behaviors with autistics. However, the notion of exercise being employed to manage autism is controversial. Meta-analysis and systematic reviews have concluded that physical activity has positive effects on social skills and behavior in young children and adolescents with autism. Activities such as martial arts have been singled out as being particularly beneficial. Established programs such as TEACCH have been successfully modified, as research trials, to be more physical activity-based and have shown positive results. Studies have also reinforced the importance of the role of parental involvement in delivering programs based on physical activity. There is a paucity of research evidence about the long-term effects of physical activity-based interventions. There is also disparity over the detailed nature of the activities and exercises that compose an effective program. Each person with autism has a highly individualized set of symptoms and characteristics for which highly individualized programs are warranted. This is especially true for physical activity programs.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.