Social exercise interventions for children who have complex developmental needs: A systematic review

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Developmental Psychology
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Children not meeting developmental milestones often benefit from exercise interventions.
• Social participatory elements in exercise may enhance outcomes for children with complex developmental needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and synthesize research on exercise interventions with social participatory elements for children with complex developmental needs.
• To identify the effectiveness and outcomes of these interventions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic search of multiple academic databases (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Emcare, Proquest, MEDLINE, Google Scholar) for studies published between 2000 and 2021.
• Inclusion of peer-reviewed studies meeting review criteria.
• Methodological quality appraisal of 49 eligible studies (including 47 controlled trials) using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

Main Results:

• Two groups of studies were identified: those with intentional social participation and those with incidental social participation.
• Most studies were of moderate to low methodological quality, with few measuring total physical activity levels.
• Short-term improvements in physical outcomes, especially motor skills, were the most frequently reported benefits.

Conclusions:

• Social exercise interventions offer short-term physical benefits, particularly motor skill development, for children with complex developmental needs.
• Further rigorous, longitudinal research is required to evaluate social, psychological, and executive function outcomes.
• Interventions should consider booster sessions to maximize opportunities for children to meet developmental milestones.