Increasing physical activity in young adults with autism spectrum disorders

Although regular physical exercise is clearly beneficial, many people with autism spectrum disorders do not exercise regularly. The present study used a multiple-baseline-across-participants design with a reversal to demonstrate that a treatment package comprising goal-setting and reinforcement substantially increased walking by young adults with autism spectrum disorders while at school. During the initial baseline condition participants were given pedometers to wear. Once each participant's number of steps stabilized, she/he sets daily goals for minimum number of steps taken and received access to valued objects or activities (reinforcers) for meeting those goals. By the end of the first treatment condition each of five participants was successfully meeting his or her goal and walking at or above 10,000 steps each day. Walking decreased when a return to baseline was implemented, then increased when treatment was reinstated. Social validity assessment indicated that both the participants and their teacher found the intervention highly acceptable. These findings suggest that simple strategies based on goal setting and reinforcement merit further investigation as interventions for increasing exercise.