Changes in indicators of behavioral adaptability of children with autistic spectrum disorders under experimental conditions

Abstract

Improving the everyday adaptive skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorders and developing adaptive behavior is an important task of corrective and educational intervention. The question of selecting effective means of physical education to correct the everyday adaptive skills and abilities of children with autism spectrum disorders remains open. The aim of the article is to investigate changes in the indicators of adaptive behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders under the influence of an author's physical education program. To assess the degree of adaptability of behavior, a rating scale of autism in children (CARS) was used. Based on the characteristics of physical and psychophysical development of children aged 10-11 years with autism spectrum disorders identified in previous stages, a physical education program was developed. A formative pedagogical experiment was used to determine the effectiveness of the proposed physical education program. The reason for the small changes in the indicators of adaptive behavior of children with autism spectrum disorders in the conditions of the pedagogical experiment may be the resistance of the indicators of autism spectrum disorders to external influences, or the short duration of the experimental factor's influence. This may also indicate the imperfection of the measuring instrument, or the high degree of subjectivity of the experimenter's judgments. In the conditions of the experiment, there was a tendency towards a uniform improvement in the indicators of adaptability of children with autism spectrum disorders to everyday life; significant positive changes occurred in the use of vision in boys, approaching significant changes in general impression and level and coherence of intellectual response. We have established for the first time that girls with autism spectrum disorders differ from boys in better adaptation to changes, more adequate use of vision, hearing and smell, touch and taste.