Effects of physical activity on motor, communication, social, and executive function in children with autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder with characteristic impairments including social and communication deficits, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors. Physical activity has shown promise as a non-pharmacological intervention to improve motor skills, executive function, and social interaction in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, existing studies often overlook age-specific effects. This study aims to evaluate the impact of physical activity on key functional domains in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder through meta-analysis. Methods This study conducted searches across four databases up to March 2024, to identify pertinent RCTs. The systematic screening, data extraction, quality assessment, and data analysis were independently conducted by two reviewers. A total of 19 studies were included in the analysis. A total of 609 participants were involved. Results The findings indicated that physical activity interventions exhibit the potential to ameliorate relevant symptoms in children with ASD. Specifically, communication ability (SMD = 0.58, 95%CI: 0.28, 0.87, p>0.05) and social ability (SMD = 0.72, 95%CI: 0.43, 1.01, p<0.05) showed a moderate to large effect size. Large effect sizes were noted for motor ability (SMD = 2.06, 95%CI:1.15, 2.96, p<0.05), whereas executive function (SMD = 0.46, 95%CI:0.23, 0.69, p>0.05) exhibited a moderate effect size. Conclusions Our investigation demonstrates that physical activity exerts a constructive influence on augmenting communication, social, motor, and executive function capabilities in children with ASD. However, disparities in optimal effects observed across communication, social, motor, and executive functioning outcomes are contingent upon intervention duration, frequency, and period.