Step Up for Autism
What is the Step up for Autism study about? Physical activity (PA) provides many physical and mental health benefits – from improving motor skills and fitness to social functioning and mood. Yet children with autism experience personal and environmental barriers that limit their participation in PA and the benefits that can be gained from PA. In this study, we will co-design a PA program with parents and children to tailor PA benefits to individual goals and determine PA impacts on everyday life. First, we will work with parents to understand barriers and facilitators specific for their child. We also want to know if parent and child goals for PA are similar and how this affects participation. This will inform a free individualised 8-week PA program for the child that will run during the second half of 2024. We will evaluate feasibility and effectiveness of the program using a mixed methods approach. Our evidence-based approach includes standardised and tailored physical and mental health pre-post testing and a post-program reflection.
Who is eligible? We are looking for children with autism (and their parents), between the ages of 5 and 12 years. You can opt in for the parent-child interviews, the free exercise intervention for your child or both. All participants will be paid, and children will receive a small prize for participating. The study is registered with ethics (and ANZCTR) as ‘Physical Activity in Autism: Mapping Activities to Goals’ and has been approved by the Murdoch University Human Research Ethics Committee (Approval 2024/046).