ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
The Effects of a 16-Week School-Based Exercise Program on Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Physical Activity for Anxiety for Autistic People: A Systematic Review.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Pooled it
- The effect of the physical exercise intervention on negative emotions in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Trampoline exercise reduces anxiety and improves motor skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: A randomized controlled trial.Medicine · 2026Trial
- Barriers and facilitators to sports participation in autistic Europeans: insights from a large-scale questionnaire survey.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Greater Physical Activity is Associated with Lower Rates of Anxiety and Depression Among Autistic and ADHD Youth: National Survey of Children's Health 2016-2020.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2024Article
- Effect of physical activity on social communication impairments in children with autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Sport and Autism: What Do We Know so Far? A Review.Sports medicine - open · 2024Review
- Research on the effect of different aerobic activity on physical fitness and executive function in primary school students.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Physical Activity, Gut Microbiota, and Genetic Background for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Fit-for-purpose Psychological Interventions to Support the Well-Being of Autistic Adults: A Systematic Review.Autism & developmental language impairmentsReview
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Physical activity interventions have been shown to decrease anxiety in children with ASD. There is little known regarding the effects of an exercise program on anxiety in both home and school settings and the optimal dosage to reduce anxiety. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the effects of a 16-week exercise program on the anxiety levels of children with moderate to severe symptoms of ASD in home and school settings, and to compare the effects at 8 and 16 weeks. This study was a within-subject, non-controlled design, intervention study. Twenty-four children (5−18 years) with moderate to severe ASD were included. A school-based exercise program was implemented three days a week for 16 weeks. Parents and teachers completed the Anxiety Scale for Children for ASD (ASC-ASD) at baseline, week 8, and week 16. A one-way repeated-measure ANOVA with post hoc analysis using Bonferroni adjustment was used to test for a significant effect for time (p < 0.05), with Cohen’s d used to calculate the effect size. For teacher-reported anxiety, there were significant decreases from baseline to week 16 for total ASC-ASD (p < 0.001), performance anxiety (p < 0.001), anxious arousal (p < 0.001), and uncertainty (p < 0.001). There was no significant decrease in parent-reported anxiety. The findings demonstrate that a 16-week exercise program can reduce anxiety in children with ASD in school settings. Results demonstrate that 16 weeks, as opposed to 8, may be necessary to have a significant effect on in-school anxiety.
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Registered trials
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