Graduation Year
2018
Date of Submission
4-2018
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Psychology
Reader 1
Dr. Marjorie Charlop
Terms of Use & License Information
Abstract
The effectiveness of a teaching progression to teach three “Olympic” exercises and improve gross motor coordination was evaluated with four children (3 boys, 1 girl) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multiple baseline design across children and within children across activities was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching progression used to teach the physical exercise program, which consisted of three “Olympic” events (long jump, 50 foot dash, and a relay race). Results showed all four participants learned the three “Olympic” exercises, with all four participants mastering at least one of the three exercises. Two participants mastered all three “Olympic” exercises. Additionally, all four participants experienced a significant improvement in gross motor coordination. A posttest follow-up was done one week after the participant finished the third test phase, or mastered the final exercise. These results show that physical modeling, focused feedback, and focused physical modeling can be successfully used to teach children with ASD how to perform physical exercises, as well as the fact that learning how to perform, and actually performing, physical exercises increased gross motor coordination in children with ASD.
Recommended Citation
Myers, Garrett, "Effects of Learned Exercises on Gross Motor Coordination in Children with ASD" (2018). CMC Senior Theses. 1914.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1914
Included in
Applied Behavior Analysis Commons, Child Psychology Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons
