Background: Motor skill impairment has been reported in many studies of autistic adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of selected physical exercise on Perceptual-motor skills in adolescents with autism.
Methods: Twenty adolescents with autism that were under special education in Tehran based on their Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores and level of abilities were selected. Measurement tool was Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP). Selected group motor program in this study includes motor activities, games and sports for adolescents that were performed for 10 weeks.
Results: Results showed that selected physical exercise training has significant effects on all of the variables (P<0.001) except the speed of running and agility (P=0.61), bilateral coordination (P=0.12) and response speed (P=0.42).
Conclusions: It seems that miscellaneous physical exercise programs which include ball games, delightful play and targeted play can improve perceptual-motor skills in adolescents with autism.