Drums-Alive Intervention Effect on the Motor and Functional Skills in Youth with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study

摘要

Intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are associated with impairments in motor development, attention, and behavior. Physical activity (PA) has been demonstrated to improve these conditions. However, many individuals with ID and ASD are not motivated to persist at performing PA tasks for an extended period of time. Therefore, there is a great need to find forms of PA that could motivate individuals to stay at performing PA. One such form of PA is Drums-Alive, which involves movement, drumming, and music to increase enjoyment motivation. While it is speculated the Drums-Alive could have an effect on motor skills, attention, and behavior, this concept has not been examined in persons with ID and ASD. Th erefore, this study aimed to explore the effect of Drums-Alive on motor skills, attention, and behavior for individuals with ID and ASD. Nine adolescents diagnosed with ID or ASD participated in an eight-week Drums-Alive program intervention. Motor skills, attention, and behavior were measured before and after the intervention. Paired-samples t-tests were used, and the statistical significance was established at p ≤ 0.05. The results suggested no significant differences in motor skills, attention, and behavior before and after the Drums-Alive intervention ( p > 0.05) . Though no statistical significance was found, improvements were observed from the pretest and posttest means, and all participants expressed their enjoyment of participating in the Drum-Alive program. More extended intervention and more participants will be needed in future research.