Graduation Date
Spring 2018
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Kinesiology, option Teaching/Coaching
Committee Chair Name
David Adams
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Chris Hopper
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Rock Braithwaite
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Autism, ASD, Autism spectrum, Stereotypical behaviors, Behaviors, Exercise, Cycling, Intervention, Single subject design, ABAB
Subject Categories
Kinesiology
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of an exercise intervention in reducing stereotypical behaviors in a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A single subject A-B-A-B design with a repeating baseline was used for this investigation. The research design will be implemented to determine if an exercise program (i.e., cycling) impact the frequency of stereotypical behaviors demonstrated by a child with ASD. Results indicate that an exercise intervention has the potential to decrease stereotypical behaviors in a child with ASD. While stereotypical behaviors have always been shown to decrease immediately after physical exercise-based interventions (Kern et al., 1984; Powers et al., 1992; Reid et al., 1988), these behaviors seemed to gradually increase and return to baseline levels over a 40 min (Celiberti et al., 1997) to 90 min (Levinson & Reid, 1993) period of rest. Therefore, it is imperative that exercise interventions such as cycling be considered as an APE programming option so that more children with ASD are afforded the social and physiological health benefits provided by cycling. Interobserver agreement was not met in this study.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Nouzovsky, Kirsten, "The impact of an exercise intervention on stereotypical behaviors in a child with autism spectrum disorder." (2018). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 162.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/162