Physiology & Behavior published research on 20 children – 10 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 10 control subjects to determine how the heart rate adjusts during different physical tests. Each participant was evaluated using the Eurofit Physical Fitness Test Battery with constant heart rate monitoring. In addition, their parents completed the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. […]
JAMA Psychiatry published research on the neurobiological basis of sensory overresponsivity (an extreme negative reaction to sensory stimuli) in youth with autism. Since more than half of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have sensory overresponsivity (SOR) the researchers wanted to use functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the differences in brain responses, habituation, and connectivity during […]
Pediatric Physical Therapy published research exploring whether participation in aerobic exercise before classroom activities improves academic engagement and reduces stereotypic behaviors in 4 classrooms of 24 children (ages 3-6 years old) with autism spectrum disorder. Methods: This study consisted of a treatment condition of 15 minutes of aerobic exercise followed by a classroom task and a control […]
Recent research studied survey responses, interviews and basic self care assessments of basic daily tasks, such as bathing, brushing their teeth, cleaning and preparing meals, of 81 adults with moderate to severe autism. The results indicated the following: 1. only 45% were employed. 2. after taking into account symptom severity and communication ability, having good self-care […]
Longitudinal research was published evaluating the development of 20 children at risk for developing autism (older sibling diagnosed with autism). Each child was completed motor, face processing, IQ and diagnostic assessments at 9 months and 40 months of age and an additional follow up assessments at ages 5-7 years old. The results indicated the following: […]
Recent research was published to investigate the physical status and feeding behavior among 23 children with autism, ages 5-16 years old (higher enrollment of males). A 3 day food record was collected using a parent questionnaire, the Brief Assessment of Mealtime Behavior Inventory, the Food Preference Inventory and nutrient intake. Physical status was evaluated using height, […]
Another great resource found on Facebook. This resource was shared by Sparkle Occupational Therapy. It is an award winning document entitled The A to Z of Postural Care from the University of Kent. The document discusses various types of adaptive equipment, manual handling, emotional support, inclusive education and the golden rules about equipment use. Then […]
Here is a freebie page from Personal Space Journey which is a collection of activities to teach children about maintaining personal space. You can download the body cards at https://www.yourtherapysource.com/personalspacejourneyfreebie.html Here are some suggestions to use the cards for: 1. Musical Body Poses: Scatter the cards around the room. Move to music. Turn the music off. […]
In my Facebook feed, HeartSpace Physical Therapy for Children , shared a link to a database of over 200 rehabilitation measures. Many of them are FREE and available in PDF format. It doesn’t get any easier than that for a last minute assessment. Some of the resources are for the pediatric population so it is definitely […]
The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders published a review of medical records from 11 children with pica who were treated at a severe behavior program over the last 12 years. All 11 children had autism except one. Although the interventions for pica were not the same for every child, they shared similar techniques such […]