The effects of game-based movement training on motor development of children with autism spectrum disorder

In this thesis research, it was aimed to examine the effect of play-based movement training on children's motor skills in children aged 3-10 years with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study included 40 children diagnosed with ASD. Within the scope of the study, the participants were divided into 2 different groups. A game-based movement training program based on the development of physical fitness in one of the groups and the development of motor skills in the other group was applied for 2 days a week for 40 minutes a day for a total of 12 weeks. Locomotor skills, object control skills and total gross motor skills were evaluated before and after the program. In the study, the " Test of Gross Motor Development - TGMD" developed by Ulrich (2013) was used as a data collection tool. SPSS 26 statistical program was used for statistical analysis of the data obtained from the study. Statistical significance p < 0.05 was accepted. For intra- group evaluation, pre-test and post-test comparisons were performed with paired samples t-test. For between-group evaluation, ANCOVA was performed with pretests as covariates. In the within-group assessment, no statistical change was detected in locomotor skills in both groups. In object control and gross motor skill results, statistically significant improvement was detected in post-tests for both groups compared to pre-tests. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups. As a result, it can be stated that both applications applied in this study may contribute to the development of object control and gross motor skills in children aged 3-10 years with ASD.