ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Autism
This article is part of the Research TopicAssessment and Intervention for Children and Adolescents Affected by Neurodevelopmental DisordersView all 5 articles
The effects of adapted physical activity on physical activity levels and social adaptive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders: a study using the ICF-CY framework
Provisionally accepted
- Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
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Objective: This study investigated the effects of an adapted physical activity (APA) program, based on the ICF-CY framework, on physical activity and social adaptive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: 41 children with ASD (aged 6~12) were ultimately included and divided into an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). The EG received the APA intervention, while the CG participated in routine extracurricular physical activity sessions. Both groups received 24-week interventions, with 3 sessions per week, each lasting 80 minutes. Assessments were conducted before and after the intervention using the ActiGraph wGT3X-BT triaxial accelerometer and the Child Adaptive Behavior Rating Scale (CABRS). Results: After 24 weeks, the EG showed significant improvements in adaptive behaviors (independent, cognitive, social/self-control, and total scores), reduced sedentary time, and increased light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity compared to the CG. Conclusions: The ICF-CY-based APA program effectively enhanced physical activity levels and social adaptive behaviors in children with ASD.
Keywords: Adapted physical activity, ICF-CY, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Physical activity levels, social adaptive behaviors
Received: 19 Sep 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kuang, Li, Shi, Zeng, Cheng and Zhan. 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: Xiaomei Zhan
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