Aim: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties in social communication, repetitive behaviors, and limited interests. The impact of multidisciplinary arts and sports-based interventions on ASD symptoms is an important topic that is being researched with increasing interest today. This study aimed to investigate the effects of multidisciplinary interventions (theatre, sports, and folk dance) on clinical symptoms and social communication and interaction skills in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Materials and Methods: The study included 18 children with ASD who were regularly followed up at the Child Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic of Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University and voluntarily participated in theatre, sports, and dance activities once a week between December 2024 and May 2025. The cases included in the study consisted of children whose diagnoses were confirmed by a child psychiatrist using both DSM-5 criteria and the ADOS-2. Parents of all participants completed a sociodemographic data form and a feedback form, providing their views and suggestions on the activities. Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores were evaluated from system records in the assessment of autism symptom severity at the first interview and 6 months later.Results: Of the participating children with ASD (n = 18), 61.1% (n = 11) were male and 38.9% (n = 7) were female, with a mean age of 9.3 ± 3.35 years (range: 5–16). Paired t-test analysis revealed a statistically significant reduction in total CARS scores after the intervention compared to baseline. A decrease was observed in all subscales except for the “Nonverbal communication” subscale. This decrease was found to be statistically significant in the areas of “Relationship with people,” “Imitation,” “Emotional response,” “Body use,” “Object use,” “Listening response,” “Taste-smell-touch response,” “Fear or nervousness,” “Verbal communication,” “Activity level,” and “General impression.”Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that multidisciplinary interventions (sports, dance, theatre) significantly reduce autism symptoms in children with ASD. Notable improvements were observed, particularly in social relationships, imitation, emotional response, communication, and sensory domains. These findings suggest that such activities may contribute to enhancing the social and behavioral skills of children with ASD.
Öznur Adıgüzel Akman (Fri,) studied this question.