Exercise Efficacy on Autism Spectrum Disorder

July 16, 2026 updated by: Şensu Dinçer, Istanbul University

The Effect Of Exercise On Performance And Quality Of Life In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if regular exercise intervention may improve the health status of the participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, ages between 5-13 years old. The main question it aims to answer is:

  • if combined regular exercise program improves motor skills, repetitive movements, aerobic capacity and quality of life of participants?
  • Researchers will compare the exercising and non-exercising participants to see if regular exercise improves the health related parameters.

Participants will do exercise for 12 weeks regularly.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Before and after the exercise program;

  • the parents of the participants will fill out the ABC problem behaviour control scale
  • the participants will perform 6 minute walk test, sit-reach flexibility test, grip strength test. Body fat analysis will be performed by using Bioimpedance Analysis Method.
  • participants will also perform MoBAK-1 test which measures motor competencies

Exercise program include; 10 minutesTreadmill Walk, Playdough or ball squeeze, Towel wring,Throwing to target, catching the tennis ball, bouncing a ball inside borders without losing control, dribbling a ball inside borders without losing control, tandem walk, Single leg stance balance on balance pad or pillow, rolling forward, Jumping exercises, Side stepping, etc.

The implementation of exercise programs, the follow-up process, and data recording methods will be documented and applied by the research team.

Data will be analyzed in the SPSS 28 statistical package program. The data distribution will be checked by Kolmogorov Smirnov and the homogeneity of variances by the Levene test. For variables with normal distribution, One-Way ANOVA will be used for multiple comparisons, and an Independent t-test will be used for pairwise comparisons. Wilcoxon test will be used for pairwise comparisons in dependent variables that do not fit a normal distribution, and the Mann- Whitney U test will be used in independent variables. The relationship between continuous variables will be tested using the correlation coefficient, and the relationship between categorical variables will be tested using the chi-square test. Descriptive statistics will be given as mean ± standard deviation. Results will be considered statistically significant for p<0.05.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria: children with autism spectrum disorder

-

Exclusion Criteria:

  • children who are unable to adapt exercise programs

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: specific type exercise group
The participants will be given exercise programs for 12 weeks, and these exercises will be performed regularly.
Other: specific type exercise group
10 minutesTreadmill Walk, Playdough or ball squeeze, Towel wring,Throwing to target, catching the tennis ball, bouncing a ball inside borders without losing control, dribbling a ball inside borders without losing control, tandem walk, Single leg stance balance on balance pad or pillow, rolling forward, Jumping exercises, Side stepping, etc
Active Comparator: daily life exercise group
- random games which includes physical activity
Other: daily life exercise group
random games which includes physical activity

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
6-minute walk test
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
The 6 Minute Walk Test is a sub-maximal exercise test used to assess aerobic capacity and endurance.
Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
sit-reach test reach flexibility test
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
The Sit and reach test is one of the linear flexibility tests which helps to measure the extensibility of the hamstrings and lower back
Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
grip strength
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
Grip strength is a measure of muscular strength or the maximum force/tension generated by one's forearm muscles. It can be used as a screening tool for the measurement of upper body strength and overall strength.
Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
MOBAK-1 basic motor competencies
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
The MOBAK 1 test battery is a recent instrument developed to assess motor competence in primary physical education.The MOBAK-1 testing battery has been r developed with the aim of assessing a wide panel of motor skills in relationship with body movement and object-control abilities
Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
body composition analyses
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
Body fat percentage will be measured by using Bioimpedance measurement system
Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
ABC Turkish form - Turkish Form (ABC).
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks
Abberant Behavior Checklist-Turkish form is a widely used 57-item assessment tool designed to evaluate and screen for autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities in children and adolescents.
Through study completion, an average of 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Istanbul University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 20, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

June 15, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

June 15, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 13, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 14, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

February 18, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 16, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • autism spectrum disorder-SY

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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