The effect of gamified physical activity on symptoms of autism and basic motor skills of children having autism spectrum disorder

This research aimed to examine the effect of gamified physical activity on autism symptoms and basic motor skills of children with autism spectrum disorder. After obtaining the ethics committee permission, the ASD levels of the participants whose Informed Parent-Guardian Consent form was signed were evaluated with GOBDÖ-2-TV, and 30 participants who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to the application and control groups in equal numbers, and pre-test with a control group based on the research time series model. The post-test was designed as a quasi-experimental research. A gamified physical activity program (OFA) was applied to 15 boys with a mean age of 11.2±2.17 years, who were diagnosed with ASD in the treatment group, for 14 days, with rest on the 8th day, for 5 hours a day. Autistic disorder levels, social interaction levels, repetitive behaviour levels and basic motor skills of students with ASD were evaluated in the measurements made before and after the OFA program. On the 15th and 45th days after the OFA program, the same measurements were repeated, and the status of the participants was followed. The data obtained from repeated measurements were statistically analyzed using the one-way ANOVA test according to the p= .05 significance level in the IBM SPSS statistical program. According to the findings, it was determined that gamified physical activity had a positive effect on the autistic disorder level, repetitive behaviours and basic motor skills of the children in the application group, but in the follow-up measurements, it was concluded that this effect regressed to the levels measured after the application. According to the data obtained from the follow-up measurements performed after the OFA program applied and, on the 15th, and 45th days, it was concluded that there was no significant difference in the social interaction levels of the students with ASD. It was concluded that the OFA program applied for 14 days had positive effects on the autistic disorder levels, repetitive behaviours and basic motor skills of children with ASD.