title: Brief Report: Coaching Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a School-Based Multi-Sport Program.
abstract: While physical activity (PA) is often overwhelming for people with ASD, appropriate engagement strategies can result in increased motivation to participate and associated physical and psychosocial benefits. In this framework, the multi-sport Supporting Success program aims to inform good-practice coaching strategies for community coaches to engage with adolescents with ASD in order to foster socialisation. The project employs a community development approach and a Participatory Action Research (PAR) design. Methods include ongoing consultation, focus groups, briefing/debriefing sessions and questionnaire surveys. Preliminary findings indicate that coaching strategies and program design are fundamental variables in the use of sport/PA to help adolescents with ASD to develop social skills and share positive experiences with peers, coaches, educators and local community members.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia. edoardo.rosso@unisa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Edoardo G F
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Rosso
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000071252:Mentoring / Q000379:methods*; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D010379:Peer Group; D012574:Schools; D013021:South Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); PA; Participatory Action Research (PAR); Sport coaching