Scoping review reveals adapted physical activity improves health in autistic children, highlighting ICF-CY complexities.
The aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review of the health benefits of adapted physical activity (APA) programs for children and adolescents with autism based on the ICF-CY. Retrieving experimental studies related to APA in children and adolescents (0-18 years) with autism in the PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, PsycINFO, and CNKI databases, January 2014-December 2023. A total of 34 studies were included (involving 13 countries and 997 subjects). Coding of health effects according to ICF-CY categories, 52% of the 210 outcome items focused on body functions, 48% on activities and participation. With its individualized, diversified and structured characteristics, APA not only serves as an effective non-pharmacological treatment strategy, but also an important way to promote the health of children and adolescents with autism in all-round way. However, the complexity of environmental factors makes it challenging to design an APA program based on the concept of ICF-CY.
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Zhan et al. (2025) studied this question.
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