Movement is a cornerstone of our quality of life, overall health, and wellbeing. More and more research, specific to that of autistics, is linking physical activity to everything from better sleep, stress reduction, decrease in challenging behavior, improved cardiovascular health, deepened mind-body connection, boosted positive emotions and enhanced learning outcomes.
Movement
The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage
In The Joy of Movement, Kelly McGonigal explores how exercise is more than just good for your health—it’s a powerful source of joy, connection, and resilience. Drawing from neuroscience, psychology, and inspiring real-life stories, McGonigal highlights how movement can combat feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Whether it’s running, dancing, swimming, or walking, movement helps us experience fulfillment, foster social bonds, and tap into our innate capacity for hope and self-transcendence. This book offers a fresh perspective on why moving your body is key to finding happiness and meaning in life.
The Joy of Movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage
"Exercise is health-enhancing and life-extending, yet many of us feel it’s a chore. But, as Kelly McGonigal reveals, it doesn’t have to be. Movement can and should be a source of joy. Through her trademark blend of science and storytelling, McGonigal draws on insights from neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, and evolutionary biology, as well as memoirs, ethnographies, and philosophers. She shows how movement is intertwined with some of the most basic human joys, including self-expression, social connection, and mastery–and why it is a powerful antidote to the modern epidemics of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. McGonigal tells the stories of people who have found fulfillment and belonging through running, walking, dancing, swimming, weightlifting, and more, with examples that span the globe, from Tanzania, where one of the last hunter-gatherer tribes on the planet live, to a dance class at Juilliard for people with Parkinson’s disease, to the streets of London, where volunteers combine fitness and community service, to races in the remote wilderness, where athletes push the limits of what a human can endure. Along the way, McGonigal paints a portrait of human nature that highlights our capacity for hope, cooperation, and self-transcendence. The result is a revolutionary narrative that goes beyond familiar arguments in favor of exercise, to illustrate why movement is integral to both our happiness and our humanity. Readers will learn what they can do in their own lives and communities to harness the power of movement to create happiness, meaning, and connection."
McGonigal, K. (2019). The joy of movement: How exercise helps us find happiness, hope, connection, and courage.
Exercise as an Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorder
This review looks at the impact of exercise interventions on behavioral outcomes in individuals with autism spectrum disorder under the age of 16. Results showed that exercise interventions such as jogging, horseback riding, martial arts, swimming, or yoga/dance can result in a variety of improvements in behavioral outcomes. Horseback riding and martial arts interventions resulted in the greatest improvements in behavioral outcomes.
A Systematic Review of the Behavioural Outcomes Following Exercise Interventions for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder
The purpose of this review was to systematically search and critically analyse the literature pertaining to behavioural outcomes of exercise interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder aged ⩽16 years. This systematic review employed a comprehensive peer-reviewed search strategy, two-stage screening process and rigorous critical appraisal, which resulted in the inclusion of 13 studies. Results demonstrated that exercise interventions consisting individually of jogging, horseback riding, martial arts, swimming or yoga/dance can result in improvements to numerous behavioural outcomes including stereotypic behaviours, social-emotional functioning, cognition and attention. Horseback riding and martial arts interventions may produce the greatest results with moderate to large effect sizes, respectively. Future research with well-controlled designs, standardized assessments, larger sample sizes and longitudinal follow-ups is necessary, in addition to a greater focus on early childhood (aged 0–5 years) and adolescence (aged 12–16 years), to better understand the extent of the behavioural benefits that exercise may provide these populations.
Bremer, E., Crozier, M. Lloyd, M. (2016). A systematic review of the behavioural outcomes following exercise interventions for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 20(8), 899-915. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613156160
Movement for Focus: How Physical Activity Increases Engagement in Children with ASD
This study examines the impact of antecedent exercise (e.g. jogging, walking, or biking) on sustained engagement for children with ASD in early childhood. Three kindergarten students with ASD participated in the study. Results show that brief, fun, embedded antecedent exercise increased student engagement and on-task behavior across classroom activities.
The Effects of Physical Activity on Engagement in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Physical activity (PA) is linked to multiple positive health outcomes for young children, with potential benefits in other domains as well. Engaging in higher intensity PA may produce positive gains for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), especially in academic engagement and on-task behavior. However, there is limited research documenting current levels of PA in young children with ASD and effective strategies for early childhood educators to increase PA. The aim of this study is to address these gaps by examining the extent to which embedded antecedent exercise (AE) increases and sustains engagement for children with ASD in early childhood settings. Three kindergarten students with ASD participated in this study, using a single-case withdrawal design to investigate the relationship between intensity of PA and student engagement during two unique classroom activities. Overall, results showed an increase in student engagement across classroom activities after participating in embedded AE.
Harbin, S.G., Davis, C.A., Sandall, S. Fettig, A. (2021). The Effects of Physical Activity on Engagement in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Early Childhood Education Journal, 50, 1461-1473.
