Training was conducted over a period of 8 weeks with three weekly sessions, each lasting 45 min. The exercise program resembled the SPARK intervention program that involves exercise and free play. Each exercise session lasted 45 min and was divided into four parts. During the first 10 min, a warm-up program was conducted consisting of stretching, walking, and jogging exercises. Thereafter, children played and exercised for 25 min to specifically promote their fundamental movement skills (e.g., jumping) through the SPARK intervention. During the main part of the SPARK session, health- and skill-related physical fitness were promoted through exercise and free play [31 (link)]. Health-related fitness exercises comprised 13 activities that included aerobic dance, running games, and jump rope exercises [20 (link)]. Accordingly, the main focus was to develop cardiovascular endurance. This was realized through the systematic programming of intensity, duration, and complexity of the respective activities [20 (link)]. Sports, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids tries to promote skill-related fitness by focusing on different sports such as soccer, basketball, and Frisbee [31 (link)]. Finally, a 10-min cool-down program consisting of dynamic stretching was realized. Over the course of the intervention period, the waiting control group performed their regular physical activity program including walking and free play. All sessions of the intervention and the waiting control group were supervised by physiotherapist who had at least 10 years of professional experience in delivering physical education to children with developmental disorders (i.e., ASD children). Overall, the intervention program included 24 SPARK sessions.
Free full text: Click here
