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Studies have reported that physical exercise reduces maladaptive stereotyped motor behaviours (SMB) in children with ASD, but these intervention studies vary in design and outcome. The present systematic review and meta-analysis included 22 studies, involving 274 children with ASD, to quantify the effect of exercise on SMB and its potential moderators. Multi-level modelling revealed a large overall effect, Hedges' g = 1.16, with significant heterogeneity across participant, treatment, and study levels. Further, a more appropriate model using between-case estimation for within-subject effects to improve comparability between single-case and group-design studies, yielded a smaller but still significant effect, g = 0.51. Lastly, higher exercise intensity, but not age, exercise duration or settings, reliably predicted treatment effectiveness. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed., Author(s): Elizabeth J. Teh [sup.1] , Ranjith Vijayakumar [sup.2] , Timothy Xing Jun Tan [sup.2] , Melvin J. Yap [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.4280.e, 0000 0001 2180 6431, Department of [...]

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating role of adaptive behavior on the pathways connecting motor competence, physical activity, and health-related fitness in 7-12 year old children with ASD (N = 27). Results demonstrate that motor competence and health-related fitness were positively related (r = .42, p < .05), and this relationship was moderated by adaptive behavior. Specifically, we found that motor competence and health-related fitness were significantly related for those participants scoring approximately one or more standard deviations below the mean on adaptive behavior. No other significant pathways were present. Implications of these associations and directions for future research are discussed., Author(s): Emily Bremer [sup.1] [sup.2] , John Cairney [sup.1] [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.17063.33, 0000 0001 2157 2938, Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, , 55 Harbord [...]