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Web-based interventions have the potential to overcome many barriers for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including reaching rural population and lowering the cost of interventions. Project CHASE is a web-based intervention involving parents of children with ASD joining a private Facebook group where they were exposed to five component...
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... activity promotion materials were specifically designed for Project CHASE and were provided bi-weekly to participants via Facebook posts. These posts included information on (1) benefits to be gained from physical activity participation (e.g., Figure 1), (2) barriers to physical activity and solutions to overcoming these barriers, 3) physical activity opportunities in the community, and 4) practical instructional and motivational strategies for increasing physical activity among children with ASD. This content was derived from the literature on physical activity for children with ASD, and by knowledge of local amenities and physical activity opportunities. ...
Citations
... The intent of the research was to look at the impact of WhatsApp on increasing physical activity levels of children with ASD and found that the mean physical activity score used in the study increased significantly after four weeks. This finding supports similar findings from social media platforms such as Facebook (Healy & Marchand, 2020;Valle, et al., 2013;Wojcicki, et al., 2014). The literature presents a need and benefit to using evolving communication technology to help children and youth with ASD and communication disorders understand instructions prior to and during learning activities involving movement skills and physical activity engagement. ...
In spring of 2020, COVID-19 forced students to transition their college experience. A global pandemic provides the opportunity to understand a forced transition experienced by an entire college-student population. We captured this experience for 17 four-year, United States, undergraduate college students utilizing qualitative, deductive content analysis informed by Schlossberg’s transition theory. Findings demonstrate that students need early communication from their institution to trigger their transition and that personal relationships with specific faculty and staff members should be better activated.
... Black et al. (2021) suggested that the face-to-face environment creates many barriers for children with health disorders and that online education may result in fewer absenteeism for children who frequently miss school because of their health (McNamara et al 2022a). Similarly, ASD researchers pointed out that online platforms can be an effective learning environment for the PE of children with ASD, which is often interrupted due to high cost and dependence on specialists and non-naturalistic environments (Esent€ urk and Yarımkaya 2021a, Garcia et al. 2021, Healy and Marchand 2020, Marchand and Healy 2019, Yarı mkaya et al. 2021, Yarı mkaya et al. 2022, McNamara et al. 2021b). The negative beliefs and attitudes of the PE teachers in the current study towards the online PE lesson may be related to their unpreparedness for the online education due to the sudden transition. ...
Background: The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the experiences of physical education (PE) teachers regarding online PE lessons for children with ASD during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method: Participants in this study were 16 PE teachers who took part in one-on-one semi-structured phone interviews. Interview data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s recipe for thematic analysis.
Result: Four overarching themes were found: (1) we were unprepared for online lessons, (2) challenges of online lessons, (3) parental support, and (4) solution offers.
Conclusion: The results revealed that PE teachers were unprepared for the sudden transition to online lessons due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PE teachers started the online teaching with parent support despite the challenges, but they were not satisfied with the online PE model.
... LTEQ shows what is considered strenuous, moderate or mild physical activity for users. To help parents, we also added to the LTEQ which physical activity in the study was considered strenuous, moderate or mild physical activity In previous studies (Esentürk & Yarımkaya, 2021a;Hamm & Yun, 2018;Healy & Marchand, 2020;Marchand & Healy, 2019;Memari et al., 2015;Russell et al., 2018;, LTEQ were used frequently to determine the physical activity level of individuals with ASD in their leisure time. Memari et al. (2015) showed that LTEQ has a good test-retest reliability score that can be used to determine the physical activity level of children with ASD. ...
... Firstly, Judo, a technical sport branch, was shown as physical activity to parents and children with ASD, who usually do not have any educational background. Access to physical activities such as judo that require specialist personnel, costly special equipment, and non-naturalistic venues is often limited to the areas and people served by specialist personnel (Marchand & Healy, 2019). Therefore, it is thought that parents will have difficulty in applying Zoom-delivered judo activities to their children with ASD. ...
Although the benefits of regular physical activity are clearly expressed, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are less physically active than their typically developing peers. Recent empirical studies have revealed that the level of physical activity of children with ASD has further decreased during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has adversely affected the whole world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential efficacy of a Zoom-delivered physical activities for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Twenty-two families (parent and child dyads) participated in the study. Families were assigned randomly to an experimental group (n = 11) and a control group (n = 11). Families in the experimental group were engaged in 10 weeks of the Zoom-delivered physical activities. Data were collected using multiple data collection strategies (Personal Information Form- Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire–Semi-Structured Interview). After the Zoom-delivered physical activities, a significant increase was observed in the physical activity level of children with ASD in the experimental group (F = 95.396, p = 0.000, Ƞ² = 0.834). Parents reported that Zoom-delivered physical activities are a viable and useful intervention to increase the level of physical activity of children with ASD. The findings suggest that Zoom-delivered physical activities merit further investigation as an intervention to increase physical activity in children with ASD.
... Respective referrals occurred through general practitioners, mental health professionals, school guidance officers, and parents. Some examples include recruiting recently diagnosed children (Whitehouse et al., 2017), children on waitlist for services (Law et al., 2018), or participants in rural areas (Healy & Marchand, 2020;Wainer & Ingersoll, 2015). Turgeon et al. (2020) recruited parents through posting in 7 ASDspecific Facebook groups and on the lab's page, resulting in almost 300 shares. ...
... A summary of demographic information describing participant characteristics in the included studies can be found in Table 2. Studies reported varying levels of demographic information regarding their participants. Overall, there was a higher rate of White participants in five of the nine studies reporting race (Healy & Marchand, 2020;Ibañez et al., 2018;Ingersoll et al., 2016;Vismara et al., 2013;Whitehouse et al., 2017). SCDs had an increased sampling of diversity in their participants; however, these studies included very few total participants (Douglas et al., 2018;Law et al., 2018;Wainer & Ingersoll, 2015). ...
... Whitehouse et al. (2017) provided coaching via phone calls and messages. Five studies (Douglas et al., 2018;Healy & Marchand, 2020;Ibañez et al., 2018;McGarry et al., 2019;Turgeon et al., 2020) did not provide coaching to their participants. Therapists provided live feedback in four studies Vismara et al., 2013Vismara et al., , 2018Wainer & Ingersoll, 2015) through video conferencing. ...
Background
Self-directed web-based parent-mediated intervention programs may help counter some barriers associated with access to evidence-based practices.
Methods
The current study is a systematic review of 14 studies that included parent-mediated intervention programs for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), reported on child outcomes, and included a self-directed, web-based component.
Results
Online interventions with self-directed components were efficacious in increasing parent fidelity, child social-communication behaviors, adaptive behaviors, and decreasing anxiety. Studies reviewed were of moderate to high quality and varied in experimental design, inclusion of representative samples, and fidelity reporting.
Conclusions
Web-based parent-mediated interventions are establishing a promising evidence-base in the literature and may expand access to evidence-based treatment for autistic children. Future research in this area calls for additional investigation on the effect of coaching, implementation with community samples, instructional design features, and use of multimodal outcome measures.
... The recruitment and retention rate recorded in this study were within the range of recruitment rates found previously with children with ASD [29,30]. Families of children with ASD often have multiple obligations related to their children's care, which conflict with making physical activity a priority [15,16]. ...
... In our study, 67% of participants turned in the activity logs, which were used as a proxy of the program's adherence. A recent feasibility study reported that 75% of their sample reported their physical activity levels (over four weeks) by submitting their responses via Facebook messenger [30]. A possible reason for our lower numbers for this may be because we relied on email and in-person delivery of activity logs. ...
The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the feasibility of a fundamental motor skills (FMS) intervention with two groups on the acquisition of FMS of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We randomly assigned families (n = 15) of children with ASD aged 4–11 years into two groups (a workshop or a home-based group) focused on FMS development. Both groups participated in a 10-week intervention and were given the same instructional manual and adapted physical activity equipment. The workshop group also attended four in-person workshops targeting the needs of children with ASD and their parents. Children were tested on their FMS using the third edition of the Test of Gross Motor Development at the start and end of the intervention and then three months following the intervention. The recruitment rate was 50%, and the retention rate was 80% for all participants. The intervention for groups was safe and accepted by the participants as evaluated by post-program interviews. The outcomes of this pilot study suggest that parents can facilitate the acquisition of FMS of their children with ASD. Although these results are positive, there is a need to further identify effective interventions for FMS development in children with ASD.
... The final score provides us with references about the health contribution of physical activity (Sari and Erdo gan 2016). LTEQ has been frequently used in previous studies (Hamm and Yun 2018, Healy and Marchand 2020, Marchand and Healy 2019, Memari et al. 2015, Russell et al. 2018 to determine the leisure time physical activity level of individuals with ASD. Memari et al. (2015) showed that LTEQ has a good test-retest reliability score that can be used to determine the physical activity level of children with ASD. ...
... Current physical activity interventions aimed at increasing the physical activity level of children with ASD often require specialist support (teacher, medical clinician, or physical therapist), costly special equipment and non-naturalist environments (school, equine, pool, or equine therapy center etc.) (Healy and Marchand 2020). In most cases, access to existing physical activity programs is limited to people living in areas where specialists serve (Marchand and Healy 2019). In addition, from spring 2020, the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has emerged that deeply affects the world and restricts access to existing physical activity programs for children with ASD. ...
... Current physical activity interventions are often interrupted by dependence on professionals and unnatural environments and high cost (Healy and Marchand 2020). In most cases, access to existing physical activity programs is limited to people living in areas where professionals serve (Marchand and Healy 2019). However, barriers that prevent participation in physical activity for children with ASD can be overcome through social media platforms (Healy and Marchand 2020). ...
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of WhatsApp-delivered physical activities on the physical activity level of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Method: This study used the mixed-method sequential exploratory design that consisted of the quantitative stage and the qualitative stage. The 42 family (parent and child dyads) participated in the study. Families were assigned randomly to an experimental group (n: 21) and a control group (n: 21). Families in the experimental group were engaged in 6 weeks of the WhatsApp-delivered physical activities. The data were collected through Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (LTEQ) and Semi-Structured Interview Questions. A two-way mixed ANOVA (2 groups × 2 time points) was used to determine the effects of WhatsApp-delivered physical activities on the physical activity level of children with ASD. Results: After the WhatsApp-delivered physical activities, a significant increase was observed in the physical activity level of children with ASD in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusions: The results provided evidence that WhatsApp-delivered physical activities positively affect the physical activity level of children with ASD.
... A recent study by Brazendale et al. (2019) found that implementing evidence-based techniques (e.g. encouragement, visual cues) during physical education at school over a 20-day period may increase MVPA in youth with developmental disabilities, while Healy and Marchand (2019) found that a 4-week, parent-mediated, web-based activity intervention did not significantly increase MVPA in youth with ASD. Both previous studies were considerably shorter in duration than the current study, and although the former study took place in a school setting, there are similarities to the format of the current intervention in that both utilized visual cues and small group/partner-based exercises. ...
To examine the preliminary efficacy of an 8-week judo program to promote moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and reduce sedentary behavior (SB) in youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Fourteen children diagnosed with ASD participated in a weekly judo program over a period of 8 weeks. Participants wore an Actigraph accelerometer to measure activity levels at baseline and post-judo. All 14 children attended at least 75% of the 8 judo classes. Percentage of time spent in daily MVPA (8% vs 4%, p = .05) increased following the intervention. A high rate of participation and an increase in time spent in MVPA was observed following the 8-week program. Further research to examine causal mechanisms is warranted.
In recent years, and especially due to COVID-19, a large number of telehealth interventions have been implemented. The large amount of information requires a differential analysis with an emphasis on rurality and the practice of parents/caregivers in the care and attention of children. The objectives of this study were to synthesize the available evidence on telehealth interventions aimed at parents and caregivers of children living in rural settings, and to identify relevant methodological aspects that are considered in such interventions. A systematic review was conducted in the Medline (Ovid), Embase, Scopus, APA-PSYCNET, Web of Science and LILACS databases. Studies published between 2000 and 2020 were considered. A narrative synthesis of the main results of the studies was performed, including basic characteristics, details of the interventions, and the main outcome measures. The quality of the studies included was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools. A total of 596 potential studies were identified, of which only nine were included. Quality assessment was consistent in all nine studies. Parents and caregivers of children with speech and language impairment, motor impairment or problems in performing activities of daily living, with behavior problems, and with autism spectrum disorder were the main populations groups benefiting from the interventions. Telehealth interventions were implemented by means of online sessions, pre-recorded sessions and self-learning modules, among others. Results, although variable, evidence positive outcomes regarding the development of multiple skills in children, their parents and family members, as well as the opportunity to provide timely access to health services. Finally, Telehealth is increasingly becoming a useful tool to provide counsel and knowledge to parents and caregivers living in rural areas that will enable them to properly manage health problems.
