Author : Gabrielle Salvatore
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 118 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (128 download)
Book Synopsis Increasing Daily Physical Activity Levels in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder by : Gabrielle Salvatore
Download or read book Increasing Daily Physical Activity Levels in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder written by Gabrielle Salvatore and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to understand components of motivation, adherence, and self-efficacy in exercise programs in adults with autism spectrum disorder, as well as the barriers that affect exercise participation in this population. A mixed-methods approach was utilized with an online survey, semi-structured interviews, and brief behavioral intervention. The online survey consisted of 20 questions. Measures included demographics and questionnaires regarding the utilization of and beliefs regarding activity trackers. Participants were recruited through Temple University's Disability Resources and Services and through the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences. Thirty-five (n = 35) responses were collected from participants aged 18-68 (age 34±14.77 years). It was important for the research team to understand if this population could benefit from exercise technology to help promote behavior change. Participants were females (54.3%) and males (45.7%), with 68.6% reporting Caucasian, 20% Asian, 2.9% Hispanic, and 8.6% other. Of the respondents, 40% were Temple University students and 60% were community members. A majority of participants (78.1%) reported that they do not currently use an activity tracker and 71% reported that they do not use a mobile application to track physical activity (PA); however, 73.5% reported that using an activity tracker would help to increase PA levels. Of the total participants who attempted the online survey (n = 35), 79.41% (n = 27) indicated interest in a follow-up interview. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants (n = 3) aged 19-53. Interviews were designed to further understand the PA levels of adults on the spectrum, as well as the attitudes and motivations toward PA. A version of the constant comparative method was used to identify 5 themes; exercise history, perceived barriers, environmental constraints, exercise demands, and how ASD affects exercise participation. From the 5 themes, 24 subthemes emerged based on interview responses. . Following the interviews, participants were provided a brief PA intervention. Two individuals aged 19-21 wore a Fitbit Flex 2 for a total of six weeks; exploring the potential to motivate persons with ASD to increase their PA levels using techniques such as goal setting and reinforcement. The research team designed this study using a pre-test post-test design. Overall, the step count and activity levels of both participants increased when comparing the pre-phase to the post-phase. However, no significance was found when running paired samples t-tests between pre-test and post-test PA results. These findings suggest that individuals with ASD do not exhibit statistically significant differences at pre-test or post-test. It is important to note that these results are not generalizable due to the small sample size.