1. BENEFITS OF LEARNING TO RIDE A TWO-WHEELED BICYCLE FOR ADOLESCENTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME AND AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
- Author
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Hauck, Janet, Jeong, Irully, Esposito, Phil, MacDonald, Megan, Hornyak, Joseph, Argento, Angela, and Ulrich, Dale A.
- Subjects
Cycling -- Physiological aspects -- Health aspects ,Autistic persons ,Down syndrome -- Physiological aspects -- Analysis ,Youth -- Physiological aspects -- Analysis ,Exercise physiology ,Exercise therapy ,Education ,Health ,Social sciences ,Sports and fitness - Abstract
Adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were provided an opportunity to gain independent bicycle riding skills and physiological outcomes were examined. Twenty-five adolescents with DS and ASD participated. Measures of leg extension/flexion strength, standing balance, and BMI percentile were measured at baseline and one-year later. Following the intervention, 16 participants were classified as riders and 9 as non-riders. Linear mixed-modeling revealed significantly improved leg extension and flexion strength, with meaningful improvements in balance and a decline in BMI percentile among riders. Time and age effects were observed. Bicycle riding is associated with improved physiological outcomes. Implications are discussed. Keywords: developmental disabilities, adapted physical education, physical activity, motor behavior, intervention, Introduction Developmental disabilities (DD) are a group of conditions marked by impairment in physical, psychological, intellectual or language areas that occur during the developmental period (Yeargin-Allsopp, Oakley, Murphy, & Sikes, [...]
- Published
- 2017