ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1683930
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvancing Motor Coordination Therapy for Children with Developmental DisordersView all 7 articles
Cognitive, Social, and Behavioral Effects of Music and Motor Intervention in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Role of Time of Day
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universite de Jendouba Institut Superieur du Sport et de l'Education Physique du Kef, El Kef, Tunisia
- 2Universite de la Manouba, Manouba, Tunisia
- 3University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
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This study aimed to determine the effect of 12 weeks of specific training (combining movement and music intervention) on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), specifically by comparing the time of day (morning vs. afternoon) with cognitive functions, mood, and social integration. Thirty children (19 males, 11 females; mean age 7.8 ±1.27 years) were randomly assigned to two groups: an Intervention Group and a Control Group (CG). The intervention protocol consisted of combined sessions of training, music, and motor activities, administered in a counterbalanced order: one session in the morning (9:00–9:45 a.m.) and one in the afternoon (4:00–4:45 p.m.). The control group continued their regular physical activity. Children were assessed at baseline and post-intervention for cognitive functions (Trail Making Test), maladaptive behaviors (RCS), and enjoyment (PACES). A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to analyze the interaction between the music and movement intervention and time of day. Results showed a significant increase in enjoyment in both experimental groups (morning and afternoon) compared to the control group (p <0.001), with no significant difference between the morning and afternoon groups (p = 0.743). After 12 weeks, the experimental groups showed significant improvements in both stereotypical behaviors (p<0.001) and cognitive functions (p<0.001). However, the time of day did not significantly influence these improvements (p=0.133 for stereotypical behaviors and p=0.681 for cognitive functions). Significant improvements were observed in affective/emotional (p < 0.001) and motor control behaviors (p < 0.001), which partially reflect reductions in maladaptive behaviors. However, specific measures of social engagement did not show statistically significant changes (p > 0.05). Our study found no effect of time of day on the outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorders.
Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), time of day, Music, Movement, physical activity, intervention, cognitive functions, Stereotypical behavior
Received: 12 Aug 2025; Accepted: 15 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kanzari, Haweni, Mkaouer, Mrayeh, Marsigliante and Muscella. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Antonella Muscella, antonella.muscella@unisalento.it
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