Improvements In Behavioral And Physical Variables For Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Through Yoga
Date
2016-05
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a multi-system neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social communication impairments and presence of repetitive/restricted behaviors. Children with ASD also display significant motor impairments, however there is limited literature evidence for motor interventions in ASD. The current study examines the role of a movement-based yoga intervention for children with ASD in an attempt to improve the physical and behavioral skills of children. The study is being conducted at the University of Delaware Move to Learn Autism Lab in Newark, Delaware. Seven male children with ASD between 5 and 12 years were assessed. The subjects underwent ten weeks of intervention, including two weeks of testing and eight weeks of training. Testing measures include standardized assessments to examine the child’s flexibility, strength, and balance. In addition, the child’s negative, sensory, stereotyped, and self-injurious behaviors were assessed. Training was provided four times a week, with two hourly sessions delivered by an expert trainer and two hourly sessions by a caregiver. The sessions include seven conditions/components: Hello song, Contact, Breathing, Looking, Poses, Relaxation, Goodbye song. The overall study will be completed in May 2016; the main observations indicated that children with ASD had greater imitation errors and use greater balance strategies while copying the yoga poses at their initial testing sessions compared to their final testing sessions. The subjects’ flexibility was assessed using the motion analysis software Dartfish. Through the software, the subjects’ flexibility in their joints improved for some specific poses. However, due to limitations in this motion analysis software, the analysis for joint flexibility is not entirely accurate. The subjects’ behavior was coded at their initial training session - Day 1 - and their final training session - Day 16. Most of the subjects improved their average behavior assessment scores. The average affect and verbalization scores improved over the course of the training sessions. Yoga therapies can be implemented as inexpensive treatments to address the motor and behavioral skills of children with ASD. The data suggests that frequent yoga sessions increase the balance, flexibility, and behavior of children with ASD, and could be a useful treatment tool for the disorder.
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Keywords
austism spectrum disorder, yoga, biological sciences