ReviewInternational journal of developmental disabilities2026
Impact of physical activity on executive function in primary school children with autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review.
Review in International journal of developmental disabilities, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Physical exercise therapy for autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review of systematic reviews.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: Physical activity (PA) has many significant health benefits for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The aim of the present systematic review was to synthesise published studies focusing on the effect of PA interventions on executive function (EF) 6-12-year-old-children with ASD. To our knowledge, no systematic review has yet been conducted to examine the effects of PA interventions on EF in primary school children with ASD. Findings from this review could aid primary school professionals in identifying effective interventions to address EF difficulties. Methods: The present systematic review adhered to PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Studies found in the Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus and PsycINFO databases were analysed according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, a total of seven eligible articles were carefully analysed. All studies included in the present review were analysed for methodological rigour and risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration Guide. Results: Traditional PA interventions based on table tennis, basketball skills, non-static bicycling, mixed martial arts and Chinese mind-body exercise were beneficial to EF. Further, innovative tools such as exergames spoke to the interest of students and were a good option to bring into the classroom to improve EF. Conclusions: Available evidence does not allow definitive conclusions regarding the cognitive benefits of PA alone. More scientific evidence is needed to establish firm conclusions about the type of interventions that specifically improve EF in children with ASD and provide accurate information to the scientific and educational community.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.