European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 13, 8 (2020) | DOI: 10.5507/euj.2020.006

Rethinking daily movement behaviors of children wth autism spectrum disorder: meeting the 24-hour movement guidelines

Sean Healy1, Freda Patterson1, Edward Williams1, Alicia J. Lozano2, Alexandra L. Hanlon2, Iva Obrusnikova1
1 Department of Behavioural Health and Nutrition, University of Delaware, DE, 19716, United States.
2 Center for Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Department of Statistics, Virginia Tech, Roanoke, VA, 24016 19104, United States.

In an effort to promote optimal health in all children, 24-hour movement guidelines that provide specific recommendations for physical activity, screen-time, and sleep have been developed (≥ 1 hour of physical activity, ≤ 2 hours of screen-time, 9-11 hours of sleep). Children who meet the recommendations for these health behaviours are less likely to be obese than those who do not meet them. This study compared the degree to which children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) children met the newly developed 24-hour movement guidelines. A propensity-score matched sample of 72 children (36 children with ASD, 36 TD children) from the “Growing Up in Ireland” study was included in the analysis. Based on parents’ completion of time-use diaries, fewer children with ASD, compared to TD children, met the recommendations for screen-time (58.3% vs. 80.6%, p=0.07, V=0.24) and physical activity (41.7% vs. 69.4%, p=0.03, V=0.28). Children with ASD were most likely to meet two guidelines (44.4%), whereas TD children most commonly met all three guidelines (55.6%). The findings highlight the breadth of health behaviours that require intervention among children with ASD. The current study suggests that examining the movement behaviours that constitute a 24-hour period for children with ASD may be useful to inform interventions to reduce their risk for sub-optimal health.

Keywords: Physical activity; Screen-time; Sleep; Autistic; exercise; sedentary behaviour; health; overweight; obesity

Received: April 17, 2019; Accepted: March 12, 2020; Prepublished online: March 12, 2020; Published: November 17, 2020  Show citation

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Healy, S., Patterson, F., Williams, E., Lozano, A.J., Hanlon, A.L., & Obrusnikova, I. (2020). Rethinking daily movement behaviors of children wth autism spectrum disorder: meeting the 24-hour movement guidelines. European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity, 13(2), 8. doi: 10.5507/euj.2020.006
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