Autism Spectrum Disorder in Physical Education in Primary School: a Systematic Review

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is diagnosed daily in children all over the world. Although the effects of physical exercise in this population have been extensively studied, there is still little research analysing the benefits of physical activity as part of Physical Education in schools. Therefore, this article aims to analyse the effects of physical exercise carried out in the area of Physical Education as a curricular subject on primary school pupils diagnosed with ASD, as well as the methodological strategies applied by teachers in this area. For this purpose, a systematic review was carried out in accordance with PRISMA standards, by searching for scientific articles in the databases: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed and SportDiscus. After applying the established inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 11 articles were selected, in which the following variables were analysed: participation, stereotyped behaviour, general behaviour and emotional control, social and communication skills, and motor skills. The results obtained suggest the application of cooperative learning strategies to improve their participation; the introduction of psychomotor activities and team games to reduce stereotyped behaviour, improve conduct and emotional control, and foster social and communicative skills; and the inclusion of tasks and games aimed at developing basic motor skills and coordination abilities to improve motor skills.