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This study presents two simple physiotherapy programs that were implemented for five weeks and showed positive changes in balance, coordination, and motor skills in kindergarteners with ASD. Physiotherapy programs in a gym and games on a smart board with balance plates and an unstable base were applied to improve the physical condition of children with ASD. Thirty children with ASD (4–6 years old) attending special needs kindergarten were enrolled in the study. Three tests were used to assess participants’ physical condition before and after the study: the modified Berg Balance Scale, the Imbalance Coordination Sample, and the Bruininks–Oseretsky Motor Proficiency Test (BOTMP). The resulting mean change, calculated from each group’s scores, shows that the participants who received physical therapy sessions at the smart board had the greatest change of 1.58 points. It shows that the opportunity to play games on a smart board motivates children with ASD to work harder; therefore, it is a simple and easy way to engage children in different types of physical exercise. A slightly smaller change of 1.51 was obtained in the group that received gym sessions. However, working in the gym was more psychologically challenging for the children with ASD due to their lack of desire and motivation. Both methods are relatively simple and easy to apply at home; therefore, parents can make a significant contribution to improving children’s physical condition and that can be an effective tool to assist these individuals with activities in daily life.

Background. Research has shown that musculoskeletal disorders were most commonly found in children aged 4 to 6 years (Daniusevičiūtė-Brazaitė et al., 2019). Therefore, if these negative trends continue, the growing health problems will pose a greater threat to human well-being and become a serious financial burden on the state and society. Currently, technologies are an integral part of everyday life, so the need for interactive games or animated programs cannot be doubted. Research (Lobel et al., 2016) showed that the use of play-based intervention for children significantly improves fine and visual motor performance. Hence, it is important to identify the possible factors to pre-school children’s irregular posture formation. Methods. Thirty children (15 girls and 15 boys) aged 5.6 ± 0.6 years (mean ± SD) participated voluntarily in the study. Interview method was used as a questionnaire for preschool children to determine the level of children’s physical activity, the characteristics of interactive animated educational gaming programs, their impact and motivation when engaging in game programs. Also the assessment of the biomechanical applicability of physical exercises was measured using an inclinometer and Myoton 3 system for muscle tone, elasticity and stiffness, as well as posture assessment. The methods were applied before and after the experiment. Results. All children liked the exercises of intercative animated program on the first (before) day of the study, and 98% answered on the last (after) day of the study. A greater proportion (67%) reported feeling excited when doing the exercises of the interactive animated program for the first time, whereas on the last day of the study, 48% reported feeling excited and 37% happy. Muscle stiffness scores increased on the last (post) day of the study. High measurement reliability was established for all muscle stiffness measurements. Conclusion. The exercises of the interactive animated game program were engaging – all the participants willingly performed the exercises and strong emotions such as excitement, surprise, fun/mischief prevailed during the exercises. The exercises of the interactive animated game program were performed correctly. The measured results of muscle frequency, elasticity and stiffness increased on the last day of the study. Keywords: preschool child, physical activity, engagement, motivation, interactive animated educational gaming program.

Preschool education is one of the most important priorities of modern educational policies and the basis of lifelong learning. Health-literate educators and parents are better equipped to instill sustainable health practices in young children. Therefore, it is important to examine health literacy and determine how preschool educators and parents perceive the continuous development of health competencies within the framework of sustainability. The quantitative survey results revealed the dominant levels of general health literacy among respondents: problematic (31.1% vs. 33.5%) and sufficient (39.8% vs. 43.3%) for parents and teachers, respectively. Parents’ attitudes toward the development of children’s health competence within the framework of sustainability in preschool showed that parents and educators understand that their role is one of the most important factors in strengthening children’s health competence. However, most respondents spend only 2 h being active with children on healthy lifestyles (61.5% vs. 55%) for parents and teachers, respectively. A moderate correlation was found between health literacy and the weekly time spent developing children’s health competencies (r = 0.526). In addition, educators and parents who always or very often focus on the development of children’s health competence seek to plan daily activities in a way that would enhance health promotion (r = 0.463). Within the framework of sustainability, this influence becomes even more pronounced as sustainable health education aims to instill long-lasting, holistic health practices that benefit individuals and communities over time.

Keywords: human values, book fairs, human values in communication.