Effect of educational games on physical fitness parameters in children with autism

In the study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of educational games applied as 45-minute sessions 2 days a week for 12 weeks on the physical fitness parameters of boys aged 6-9 years with autism. The population of the research is male students with autism spectrum disorder in Istanbul, the sample of the research is located at the PG Sports Center in Kartal district, the average age values are 7.66 ± 1.13 years, weight 26.6 ± 6.00 kg , height 123 ± 7.78 cm, body, It consists of a male child with autism spectrum disorder with a body mass index of 17.28±3.40 kg/m²v12. In this research, a single-group pretest-posttest experimental design, one of the quantitative research methods, was used. The evaluation of the data was made using the SPSS 22.0 statistical package program. Wilcoxon test was used to analyse the data. The significance value was accepted as p<0.05 in the analysis. Flamingo balance, touching discs, sit-reach, standing long jump, vertical jump, and 30-second shuttle tests included in the Eurofit test battery were applied to the children with autism who participated in the study. Flamingo balance values were found to be 19.41±5.16 repetitions in the pre-test and 11.91±4.71 repetitions in the post-test. The values of touching the discs were found to be 52.16±6.71 seconds in the pre-test and 38.58±4.77 seconds in the post-test. Sit-reach values were found to be 16.69±6.71 cm in the pre-test and 16.84±6.26 cm in the post-test. Standing long jump values were found to be 48.82±15.40 cm in the pre-test and 79.79±21.44 cm in the post-test. Vertical jump values were found to be 7.66±3.70 cm in the pre-test and 13.91±4.71 cm in the post-test. The 30-second shuttle values were found to be 7.91±4.35 repetitions in the pre-test and 13.66±4.86 repetitions in the post-test. Statistically significant differences were observed in flamingo balance, touching discs, standing long jump, vertical jump, and 30-second shuttle tests applied to children with autism. No statistically significant difference was observed in the sit-reach test. As a result, it has been observed that educational games have a positive effect on the physical fitness level of children with autism.