An Active Approach to Behavior: Exergaming Bike Breaks for Students with Disabilities

Many children, particularly those with disabilities, do not meet the recommended amount of physical activity per day, which can increase the likelihood of poor health outcomes. Beyond the potential health benefits, physical activity breaks are associated with increased academic engagement and decreased stereotypy and off-task behavior. It is important to increase periods of physical activity in naturalistic settings like schools. The purpose of this article is to describe two pilot studies that examined the feasibility of integrating exergaming bike breaks into daily school routines for students with disabilities. Across the studies, data were collected on physical fitness, mood, classroom behavior, and acceptability. In Study 1, 13 students ages 9-13 with autism participated in exergaming biking for 15 min, 3 days per week for 6 weeks. No significant differences were observed between ride and non-ride days for teacher-reported behaviors; however, researcher-observed disruptive behaviors were significantly lower on ride days. In Study 2, six students with disabilities ages 9-17 who had a behavior intervention plan participated in biking for 5 days per week for 10 weeks. There was a significant increase in the percentage of time students were on-task and a decrease in time students were reported to be disruptive based on teacher behavior reports. Physical fitness remained low following intervention. Overall, exergaming biking was an acceptable and engaging form of physical activity that can be integrated into students' daily routines. Use of the bikes was associated with some improvement in classroom behavior. We discuss implications for practice and recommendations for future research.