MYTime: A Mindfulness and Yoga Program to Promote Health Outcomes in Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Background: Parenting a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder can be stressful and result in health consequences for the caregivers, a population that is often overlooked and underserved. While mind-body interventions such as mindfulness yoga can help promote positive health outcomes, limited research has explored the impact of such a program on caregivers of children on the autism spectrum.

Objective: The primary objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of a 12-week mindfulness yoga program (MYtime) on perceived stress, anxiety, and depression among urban caregivers of children on the autism spectrum.

The Instructional Sensitivity of the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 to Detect Changes in Performance for Young Children With and Without Down Syndrome.

The Test of Gross Motor Development is among the most commonly used measures of gross motor competency in children. An important attribute of any developmental assessment is its sensitivity to detect change. The purpose of this study was to examine the instructional sensitivity of the Test of Gross Motor Development-third edition (TGMD-3) performance criteria to changes in performance for 48 children (age 4-7 years) with and without Down syndrome following 10 weeks of physical education.

The role of physical activity in improving physical fitness in children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Background: One in three children in North America are considered overweight or obese. Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are at an increased risk for obesity than their typically developing peers. Decreased physical activity (PA) and low physical fitness may be contributing factors to this rise in obesity.

A Group Motor Skills Program for Children with Coordination Difficulties: Effect on Fundamental Movement Skills and Physical Activity Participation.

Aims: Children with coordination difficulties are at risk of low levels of physical activity (PA) participation. This intervention examined the effects of a multidisciplinary program that emphasized parent participation on motor skill performance and PA.

Methods: Ten boys (5-7 years) completed a group program consisting of conditioning exercises and activities designed to address child-selected goals.

Fundamental movement skills and autism spectrum disorders.

Delays and deficits may both contribute to atypical development of movement skills by children with ASD. Fundamental movement skills of 25 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ages 9-12 years) were compared to three typically developing groups using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The group matched on chronological age performed significantly better on the TGMD-2.

Physical activity experiences of boys with and without ADHD.

Physical activity experiences of 12 age-matched boys with and without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were explored by converging information from Test of Gross Motor Development-2 assessments and semistructured interviews. The knowledge-based approach and the inhibitory model of executive functions, a combined theoretical lens, enabled the description of similarities and differences in experiences that emerged during interviews. Skill assessments indicated boys with ADHD were not as proficient movers as their peers without ADHD.