The Effect of Ball Exercises on Social Communicate and Interaction of Children with High Performance Autism Spectrum Disorders

Impairment in social communication and interaction is one of the most obvious signs of autism spectrum disorders. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of ball (Jim Ball) exercises on the ability of social interaction and communication in children with autism spectrum disorders. 16 children with autism spectrum disorders selected through purposeful sampling were randomly assigned into two groups of 8 subjects. Ball exercises intervention were used for 24 sessions (8 weeks, 3 sessions per week, each session lasting 35 minutes) in the experimental group. Ability to communicate and interact socially were evaluated by Gilliam Rating Scale - Second Edition (GARS-SE) in the pre and post-test phases. While Co-variance analyses showed a significant difference in social interaction between the two groups (p≤0.05), the difference in the social relationship was not significant (p≥0.05). The results showed that ball exercises can be used as a supplement in conjunction with other treatments to improve social interactions. However, the effectiveness of this intervention is different dependent on the features like the level of cognitive function, attention and cooperation.