The effects of adapted recreational physical activity on the life quality of individuals with autism

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ?Adapted Recreational Physical Activity? (ARPA) on the life quality of individuals with autism. The participants of this ARPA program were 17 female (28,8 %) and male (71,2 %). The scale that was used in this was completed by 31 mother (52,5 %) and 28 father (47,5).The parent form of Life Quality Scale for Children (LQSFC) was used to measure the life qualities of children adolescents who were between 2-18 years old. The LQSF C consisted of 4 sub-scales as: (a) physical functionality (8 items), (b) emotional functionality (5 items), (c) social functionality (5 items) and (d) school (5 items). It consists of a total of 23 items. The participants were asked to rate the each item on the 5 point likert-type scale as 0 = never and 4= always.The Turkish version of the LQSFC was developed by Çakın Memik et al. (2007). For his study, the internal consistency of the scale was also tested. Cronbach alpha values of the scale were as follows; (a) physical functionality (.76), (b) emotional functionality (.77), (c) social functionality (.70) and (d) school (.71). The total scale internal consistency coeeficient was .80.Independent samples t-test (for related test) were used to examine the statistical mean differences ibetween pre-test and post-test mean scores for all 4 sub-scales of LQSFC. Analysis indicated that the only significant (p < 0.5) differences was found in the ?physical functionality? and ?emotional functionality? sub-scales. ANOVA (for repeated measures) analyses indicated that there were no significant (p > .05) differences in mean scores for all sub-scales of the LQSFC. However, there were decrease between the pre-test and post-test scores in all sub-scales of the LQSFC.As a result, it can be concluded that adapted recreational physical activity program had a positive effect on the life qualities on the individulas with autism.