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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) significantly affects social and motor skills development in early, middle or even late childhood. To promote social and motor skills development among autistic children, an intervention consisting of Taekwondo and elements of music therapy was designed and implemented in Hong Kong. The objective of the current study is to investigate the effectiveness of this training, based on parents’ observations of their children who had completed the key stage of the training. Thirteen parents or caregivers (n = 13) whose children with autism participated in our Taekwondo training for two months were interviewed. Three major themes were identified by thematic analysis: (A) social skills-related change after the intervention, (B) motor skills-related change after the intervention, (C) characteristics of the intervention (i.e., session arrangement, tutor/coach attitude). Our findings show that our training was perceived by parents to have a significant impact on the promotion of physical ability and social communication in autistic children.

Abstract Background Suboptimal physical activity levels and tolerance, poor motor skills and poor physical health are demonstrated in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We speculate that social interaction and communication deficits in children with ASD are two major factors that hinder these children from actively participating in group physical activities. While previous studies have demonstrated that exercise intervention improves motor skills and behavioral outcomes in children with ASD, these programs tend to focus only on a single sport, which may not cater to the interests of different children with ASD. In this protocol, a game-based exercise training program designed by a multi-disciplinary team (pediatrics, physical education and psychology) will be implemented by front-line healthcare providers trained following the train-the-trainer (TTT) model and subjected to validation. Method Using a randomized controlled trial design, the effectiveness of the game-based exercise program will be examined for 112 young children with ASD. These children were randomly assigned to two groups, which will be tested and trained in either one of the two arms of the waitlist conditions (control and intervention). The assessment of physical and psychological traits will be conducted at baseline (pre-test), at 16-weeks (post-treatment) and at 32-weeks (follow-up) of the program. Discussion Most of the interventions designed for ASD children target either their psychological traits or physical conditions, without bridging the two states. With the recognition of bidirectional relations between mental and physical health, the present game-based exercise program which includes multiple level of difficulties was developed to equip ASD children with the necessary skills for engaging in sustainable team sports or even professional sport training. The program, if effective, will provide an entertaining and engaging training for whole-person development among children with ASD. Trial registration This study is registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-IOR-17011898). Registered 6th July 2017.

Social-emotional deficits in school-aged children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) greatly hinder these children from fully participating in various school activities in the inclusive education setting. Previous studies have demonstrated evidence regarding the effectiveness of using virtual reality (VR) for enhancing the children's affective expression and social reciprocity. However, considering the technical and logistical complexity of the enabling hardware and software systems, how such approaches can be effectively and sustainably delivered in the school setting remains underexplored. This paper presents a study that utilised VR headsets to enhance affective expression and social reciprocity for children with ASD and explored how the approach could be effectively and sustainably delivered at schools. A total of eight VR learning scenarios were designed based on Kolb's experiential learning framework. 176 children aged 6-12 with a clinical diagnosis of ASD participated in the study. The statistical analyses showed that the participants who received the intervention significantly improved in affective expression and social reciprocity, compared to those who were in the control group. Moreover, the approaches to enhance long-term sustainability have also been presented and discussed in this paper.