Effectiveness of exercise intervention on improving fundamental motor skills in children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and Meta-analysis

Review question / Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize available randomized controlled trial studies concerning the effects of exercise interventions on fundamental motor skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. Condition being studied: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complicated and highly prevalent neuro-developmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviors. The CDC reported that the prevalence of ASD was estimated to be 1 in 59 in the United States by 2020. Along with typical symptoms, a couple of studies have indicated that individuals with ASD encounter a variety of challenges, including sleep disturbance, obesity, executive function deficits, physical inactivity, and motor dysfunctions. Fundamental motor skills (FMS) are the unnaturally occurring basic motor learning model of the human body, which are the building blocks for advanced specialized motor skills and for children and adolescents to participate in sports, games, or other context-specific physical activity.FMS falls into three different categories: (a) locomotor skills (e.g., running and hopping), (b) object control skills (e.g., catching and throwing), and balance or stability skills (e.g., balancing and twisting).