Aerobics or Pilates: Which is More Effective in the Performance of Wechsler Acid Profile Among Children with Learning Disabilities? A Randomized Comparison Trial

The main purpose of this study was to determine whether Pilates exercise is as good as aerobic exercise on the performance of subtests of Wechsler ACID profile in female primary school students with learning disabilities. The Wechsler intelligence scale for children developed by Wechsler in 1949 was used to measure children’s intelligence. One of the features of this scale is that, unlike similar individual scales, it is not designed based on the age level and items are arranged in order of difficulty in each test. Each subtest measures different abilities, the sum of which indicates the overall intelligence.

The statistical population consisted of all female students with learning disorders in Sarayan city in the academic year 2013 - 2014, 45 of who were recruited as the sample in this study. Subjects were randomly divided into two experimental groups (aerobics and Pilates) and one control group (each containing 15 subjects). The experimental groups were the subject of independent variables (aerobic or Pilates exercise protocols) for eight weeks. Learning disorder was confirmed through interviews with the children and parents, background reviewing, and the administration of the Wechsler test. The primary objective was the comparison of Pilates and aerobic exercises in the mean score of overall intelligence at the end of the study.

The results showed that the mean score of overall intelligence was better in the Pilates group (n = 15, mean = 104) than in the aerobic group (n = 15, mean = 100). However, the results showed that eight weeks of aerobic and Pilates exercises improved the performance of the subtests of Wechsler ACID profile in the intervention groups compared to the control group, but no significant difference was found between the two intervention groups (P = 0.61).

It seems that eight weeks of aerobic and Pilates exercises can have positive effects on the performance of the subtests of Wechsler ACID profile in children with learning disabilities as a non-invasive method.