Purpose: Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by social and communicative problems as well as movement skills. Anxiety is one of the widespread problems among the people affected by autism. The aim of the present research was to survey the effect of one period of selected spark motor program on the anxiety of children with autism.
Methods: Twenty autistic children (Asperger symptom) participated in this study. They were divided into experimental and control groups. Experimental group participated in selected spark motor program for 4 weeks. The anxiety level was measured by using Spence children’s anxiety scale questionnaire before and after the exercise program. Data were analyzed by using the dependent and independent t test with SPSS 21 and the α value was considered 0.05.
Results: The results showed that after the exercise program, the level of obsessive-compulsive disorder (P<0.001), separation anxiety (P<0.001), social phobia (P<0.001), general anxiety (P=0.02), physical injury fears (P=0.01), and agoraphobia (P=0.01) decreased significantly in the experimental group. While the control group showed no significant difference.
Conclusion: Training and exercise not only reduce anxiety in autistic children but also can be used as useful nonpharmaceutical method to reduce anxiety.