Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

4-2-2014

Abstract

The Center for Social Development and Education (CSDE) and the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) are supporting the implementation of the Young Athletes (YA) program for preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Quincy Public Schools.

50-73% of children with ASD have significant motor delays compared to normative peers. Concerns include:

    Delays in overall gross motor skills, including manual dexterity, balance, gait, motor coordination, and ball handling skills.
  • Motor development appears to slow for two- and three-year-old children with ASD.

Young Athletes is a theoretically-based program designed to improve the motor development of children with disabilities (ages 3-7) through various motor activities. Clinical trials conducted by CSDE (Favazza et al., 2013) indicated that the Young Athletes program significantly improved the motor skills of young children with disabilities.

Community Engaged/Serving

Part of the UMass Boston Community-Engaged Teaching, Research, and Service Series. http://scholarworks.umb.edu/engage

COinS