Parents’ Perspectives of Physical Activity Participation Among Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background: Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are less likely to be physically active compared to their age-related peers. Given that adolescents with ASD become even less active during adolescence, they are at higher risk of developing debilitating health conditions. As such, they are more likely to develop obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, anxiety, and depression due in part to lower levels of physical activity. Given these potential health challenges among adolescents with ASD, there is a need to examine how to potentially enhance physical activity participation.

Objectives: Despite the health and social benefits of participation, little is known why they are predominantly physically inactive. Furthermore, there is a paucity of research that has examined the psychological, social, personal and structural mechanisms that influence their participation. With no previous research in Canada, this study examined parents’ perspectives and experiences of physical activity participation to examine the barriers and facilitators of participation.

Methods: Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with parents of adolescents with ASD. Interviews were analyzed thematically.

Results: Findings suggest that parents prioritized behavioural and communication interventions over physical activity throughout their adolescent’s life. This prioritization was most pronounced during childhood, and the lack of participation during their formative years shaped physical activity interests in adolescence. Second, parents also described experiencing systemic challenges when accessing physical activity programs, including a lack of awareness of ASD among service providers, funding challenges, and limited/few program options. Third, the lack of physical activity individualization and competing commitments contributed to tremendous strain on families. Fourth, the findings suggest early guidance is needed to help parents balance family life, schooling, and therapies with physical activity, as this may improve physical health and facilitate social development with peers.

Conclusions: The study suggests that a family-centred, multidisciplinary collaborative approach that includes health care practitioners such as physical therapists can potentially be used to facilitate the incorporation of physical activity into everyday life. Policy and community efforts are required to break down systemic barriers, along with training community service providers about ASD to potentially enhance participation.