Available online 16 April 2024, 101631

Author links open overlay panel, , , , , , AbstractBackground

Parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to have high levels of stress and poor health habits. There is a lack of interventions that focus on improving health outcomes in parents of children with ASD.

Objective

To examine the physical and psychosocial effects of a family-based judo program on parents of children diagnosed with ASD.

Methods

This study utilized a pre-post single group design. Eighteen parent-child dyads participated in a 14-week judo program for families of children with ASD. Judo sessions were held once a week for 45 minutes. Parents wore wrist accelerometers to assess physical activity/sleep quality, and completed surveys regarding self-reported stress levels pre- and post-judo. Parents also completed open-ended questions regarding their experience in the program. Paired sample t-tests were conducted to examine changes in stress, physical activity, and sleep quality from pre- to post-program.

Results

Both a decrease in parental stress (47.77 vs. 41.61, p<.01) and an increase in minutes per day of physical activity (35.49 vs 45.94, p = .002) were observed from baseline to post-program. Fourteen of the 18 parents (78%) reported at least one psychosocial benefit (e.g. increased self-confidence) or physical health benefit (e.g. increased physical activity) from participation in the program.

Conclusions

A family judo program may provide health benefits, such as reducing stress levels and increasing physical activity in parents of children with ASD. Further research involving larger sample sizes is necessary to better determine the effects of judo on both parents and their children with ASD.

Section snippetsINTRODUCTION

Parents of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) tend to report elevated levels of parental stress due to the additional responsibilities and challenges often experienced when raising a child with ASD.1, 2, 3, 4 Several studies have found that parents of children with ASD consistently report higher amounts of stress compared to parents of neurotypical (NT) children.1, 2, 3, 4 The extra responsibilities for parents of children with ASD can have a negative impact on family

Design & Setting

This study utilized a pre-post single group design that took place at a large, public university in the Southeastern U.S during the Spring of 2023.

Sample

This study recruited parents who were registered to participate in the Family Judo for Autism Program, that was developed through a partnership between the university and a community organization that served families of individuals with ASD. To be eligible for this study, parents had to be currently registered to participate in the family judo

Participant Characteristics

All 18 parents (72% female) enrolled in the judo program were included in the final analysis. All participants attended at least 70% of the sessions (10 out of 14). Table 2 provides information on participant characteristics.

Parental Stress

Cronbach’s α = .79 and .88 for baseline and post-program PSS, respectively, indicating acceptable internal consistency. There was a significant decrease in PSS scores from baseline (47.77 ± 7.93) to post-program (41.61 ± 8.89), p < 0.01, g = 0.64, 95% CI [0.13, 1.13].

Parent Physical Activity

There

DISCUSSION

The current study examined the impact of a family judo program on physical and psychosocial health outcomes in parents of children with ASD. It was hypothesized that there would be an improvement in physical and psychosocial health outcomes in parents following participation in the family judo program. Our hypotheses were partially upheld with an observed decrease in stress levels post judo, and an increase in PA, however, no significant improvement was observed for sleep quality in parents. In

Conclusions

A 14-week family judo program may improve psychosocial and physical health in parents of youth with ASD. Further research examining the impact of family-based physical activity programs on children with ASD, as well as further investigation into the benefits of a family judo program on all family members is warranted.

Funding

This research is funded by a donation from the Fraternal Order of the Eagles

Declaration of Competing Interest

None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to report.

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