Investigation of the effect of 8-week movement training and swimming exercises applied to children diagnosed with autism on behavioral changes

In the study, it was aimed to investigate the changes in sensory development, relationship building, body and object use, social and self-care and language skill development of 8-week movement training and swimming exercises applied to children with autism spectrum disorder according to the opinions of parents and coaches. For the purpose of the study, the research group consisted of two experimental groups. The research group consisted of children with autism (n=37) who were diagnosed with ASD according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, 2013), had partial verbal communication, had not received movement and swimming training before, had not developed basic life (eating and dressing) skills, did not use medication regularly and did not have any other chronic disease other than autism. However, in line with the exclusion criteria, (n=11) children with autism were not included in the study due to the results of the disease and regular participation in the eight-week training. The research group was formed with the voluntary participation of a total of (n=26) individuals with autism (11 girls and 15 boys) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The participants included in the study fully participated in movement training and swimming training practices twice a week for 8 weeks. The research was designed in the experimental design model of quantitative studies, experimental research methods, two group pre-test-post-test control group. Questionnaire technique was applied as a data collection method. The data were collected in two different stages by using the Autism Behaviour Checklist (ABC) scale to the parents and coaches of the participant children face-to-face under the supervision of the researcher. The data obtained were recorded in SPSS 25 package programme. Repeated Measures Anova analysis was used as statistical procedure. According to the opinions of parents and coaches, it was determined that there was a statistically significant difference in the levels of body object use, social self-care, relationship building, language skills, sensory dimension of the autism behaviour checklist sub-dimensions. In addition, it was determined that there was a statistically significant difference between the pre-test and post-test values in the total score of the scale. The pre-test and post-test scores of movement training exercises applied to children with autism spectrum disorder according to the opinions of parents and coaches were examined and it was determined that movement training exercises had a high level of effect on the development of sensory, relationship building skills, body and object use, social and self-care development and language skills of children with autism. The pre-test and post-test scores of swimming training exercises applied to children with autism spectrum disorder were examined according to the opinions of parents and coaches, and it was also determined that the body object use, social self-care, relationship building, language skills, emotional development of individuals with autism differed significantly. It is understood that both applications have a significant and significant effect in individuals with autism. As a result of movement training and swimming exercises, it is seen that children diagnosed with autism increase their skills. It was determined that movement training and swimming training applied to children diagnosed with autism enabled the child to gain movement skills, to become aware of their own bodies, to recognise and explore the world around them, to increase their self-confidence by recognising themselves, to develop language skills and to increase their attention at a certain point for a long time. Keywords: Autism, Child, Movement Training, Swimming, Exercise, Behaviour Change