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Brief Report: Impact of a Physical Exercise Intervention on Emotion Regulation and Behavioral Functioning in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Abstract

Problems with emotion regulation and behavior are often reported in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This pilot study examined the effect of physical exercise on emotion regulation and behavioral functioning in children with ASD. Twenty-seven children aged 8–12 years were randomized into either an exercise intervention group (n = 15) or a control group (n = 12). The intervention group received a 12-week jogging intervention. Children’s parents completed the Emotion Regulation Checklist and the Child Behavior Checklist pre- and post-intervention. The intervention group demonstrated significant improvement in emotion regulation and reduction in behavioral problems (ps < .05). Future studies should explore the mechanisms underlying the effects of physical exercise on emotion regulation and behavior in children with ASD.

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Acknowledgments

The author would like to express his gratitude Dr. Paul H. Lee and to all the children who participated in this study, and to the participants’ teachers and parents for their support. This project was financially supported by EduHK departmental seed funding (Ref No.: 04287). The author thanks Diane Williams, PhD, from Edanz Group (www.edanzediting.com/ac) for editing a draft of this manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by EduHK departmental seed funding (Ref No.: 04287).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Rm D4-2/F-07, Block D4, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, N.T., Hong Kong, China

    Andy C. Y. Tse

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  1. Andy C. Y. Tse
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ACYT is the sole author of the present work and he was in charge of experiment design and manuscript preparation.

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Correspondence to Andy C. Y. Tse.

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The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Tse, A.C.Y. Brief Report: Impact of a Physical Exercise Intervention on Emotion Regulation and Behavioral Functioning in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 4191–4198 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04418-2

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