Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Mar;52(3):1030-1050.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-05009-5. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

The Effect of Physical Activity Interventions on Executive Function Among People with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

Ming-Chih Sung  1 , Byungmo Ku  2 , Willie Leung  3 , Megan MacDonald  3
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The Effect of Physical Activity Interventions on Executive Function Among People with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

Ming-Chih Sung et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

The current meta-analysis comprehensively examined the effects of physical activity interventions on executive function among people with neurodevelopmental disorders. The meta-analysis included 34 studies with 1058 participants aged 5-33 years. Results indicated an overall significant medium effect of physical activity interventions on improving executive function in people with neurodevelopmental disorders under the random-effect model (Hedges' g = 0.56, p < .001). Significant moderators of the effects of physical activity intervention on executive function included age, intervention length and session time, executive function subdomains, and intervention dose (total minutes in the intervention). This meta-analysis provides support for the effectiveness of physical activity interventions on executive function among people with neurodevelopmental disorders. Future studies and limitations are discussed.

Keywords: ADHD; ASD; Cognition; Disability; Exercise intervention.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Adolph, K. E. (2008). Learning to move. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(3), 213–218. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00577.x . - PubMed - PMC
    1. Afshari, J. (2012). The effect of perceptual-motor training on attention in the children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(4), 1331–1336.
    1. Akin, S., Kilinc, F., Soyleyici, Z. S., & Gocmen, N. (2017). Investigation of the effects of Badminton exercises on attention development in autistic children. Online Submission, 3, 3.
    1. Amador-Ruiz, S., Gutierrez, D., Martínez-Vizcaíno, V., Gulías-González, R., Pardo-Guijarro, M. J., & Sánchez-López, M. (2018). Motor competence levels and prevalence of developmental coordination disorder in Spanish children: The MOVI-KIDS study. Journal of School Health, 88(7), 538–546. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12639 .
    1. Anderson-Hanley, C., Tureck, K., & Schneiderman, R. L. (2011). Autism and exergaming: effects on repetitive behaviors and cognition. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 4, 129–137 - PubMed - PMC

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources