Effectiveness of motor games on clinical symptoms intensity in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of motor games on autism disorder intensity in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The present study was Quasi-experimental with pretest, and posttest. The statistical population of this study included all of the 7-10 years-old children with ASD in Zahedan City from among whom 30 children (21 boys and 9 girls) were selected and then purposefully divided into three groups of motor games intervention with lower, moderate and high IQ groups. Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-2 was used to assess the autism disorder intensity. Motor games intervention were performed for 24 sessions, three sessions per week and 45 to 60 minutes for each session. Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate covariance and also SPSS20 software. The findings showed, in terms of stereotyped behaviors, communication skills and social interactions, there was a significant difference between motor games intervention with lower, moderate and high IQ groups (P<0.001). The motor games improved and facilitate in social interactions, communication skills and reduced stereotyped behaviors. The motor games interventions was mostly effective on high, moderate and lower IQ groups respectively.