title: Effect of exercise intervention on the perceptual-motor skills in adolescents with autism.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Motor skill impairment has been reported in many studies of autistic adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of selected physical exercise on Perceptual-motor skills in adolescents with autism.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty adolescents with autism that were under special education in Tehran based on their Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) scores and level of abilities were selected. Measurement tool was Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP). Selected group motor program in this study includes motor activities, games and sports for adolescents that were performed for 10 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results showed that selected physical exercise training has significant effects on all of the variables (P<0.001) except the speed of running and agility (P=0.61), bilateral coordination (P=0.12) and response speed (P=0.42).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems that miscellaneous physical exercise programs which include ball games, delightful play and targeted play can improve perceptual-motor skills in adolescents with autism.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Oral and Dental Diseases Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Forouzan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rafie
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran - a_gh_m2003@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Abdollah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.affiliation: Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Azadeh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zamani Jam
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shahin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jalali
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*