Evaluating an Eight-Week Therapeutic Swimming Program in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Mixed-Methods...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Therapy
• Developmental Psychology
• Sports Science

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) interventions in Romania primarily focus on behavioral and educational methods.
• Adapted Physical Activity (APA) and therapeutic swimming are underutilized in ASD treatment.
• Therapeutic swimming presents potential for addressing physical and psychosocial challenges in children with ASD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore parent-perceived changes in children with ASD undergoing an adapted therapeutic swimming program.
• To assess the impact of therapeutic swimming on well-being, learning, attention, physical activity, and social functioning.
• To evaluate therapeutic swimming as a complementary approach to Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) therapy.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 39 children with ASD participated in an 8-week therapeutic swimming program.
• Parent-report questionnaires (PPQ-Autism-Swim) measured perceived changes across five developmental domains.
• Data were collected at three time points: pre-ABA, post-ABA, and post-swimming intervention.

Main Results:

• Parents reported significant perceived improvements across multiple domains following the swimming program.
• Children demonstrated progress in physical activity regulation and self-confidence.
• Qualitative feedback highlighted calmer behavior, improved sleep, and enhanced social interaction.

Conclusions:

• Therapeutic swimming is an effective and engaging form of APA for children with ASD.
• It complements traditional behavioral therapies like ABA, addressing diverse developmental needs.
• The program shows promise in enhancing overall well-being and functional skills in children with ASD.