Desempenho motor e físico de escolares com Transtorno de Espectro Autista participantes de um programa de atletismo na escola

Abstract

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may present difficulties in motor coordination and physical fitness, which reinforces the importance of systematic physical activity for their overall development. In this context, school athletics emerges as a potential strategy to stimulate fundamental motor skills. The objective of this study was to compare the motor coordination and physical fitness performance of schoolchildren with ASD before and after participation in an athletics-based program. This is a case study with a quantitative approach, conducted with four schoolchildren diagnosed with ASD, of both sexes, aged between eight and nine years, enrolled in a public school. Data collection was carried out using the Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder (KTK) to assess motor coordination and the Projeto Esporte Brasil (PROESP-BR) battery to analyze physical fitness. The intervention program consisted of ten athletics classes, including running, jumping, and throwing activities adapted to the participants’ needs. Assessments were conducted at two moments: pre-test and post-test. The results indicated that the ten athletics classes promoted an overall improvement in motor coordination among children with ASD, with increased scores in all evaluated tasks and an increase in the General Motor Quotient from 75.25 to 84.00. Despite this, normative classifications remained unchanged, possibly due to the short duration of the intervention. There was also a relevant improvement in lower limb strength, with the mean standing long jump increasing from 88.25 cm to 103.25 cm, while upper limb strength showed a modest improvement. Despite the observed progress, there were no changes in normative classifications, possibly due to the short intervention period, reduced class frequency, and the characteristics inherent to ASD. The study reinforces the importance of structured, continuous, and adapted motor programs, as well as the need for research with longer duration, larger samples, and analyses that consider behavioral and organizational factors within the school context.