Exercise and Cognition in Children With ASD

The 10 intervention sessions were conducted in an identical format, comprising three activities: warm-up (10 min), bicycle learning (40 min), and cool-down (10 min). In the bicycle training activity, participants were asked to ride on a training bicycle with training wheels to gain better control of the bike in a gradual way. Participants then progressed from the training bicycle to a two-wheel bicycle. To keep participants on the learning curve, they were asked to ride through an obstacle course that was progressively more difficult to negotiate. The obstacles were designed by a focus group, which consisted of four physical education teachers from participating schools and one experienced cycling coach with more than five years of coaching experience.

The 10 intervention sessions were conducted in an identical format, comprising three activities: warm-up (10 min), stationary cycling (40 min), and cool-down (10 min). For stationary cycling activity, they were also asked every 10 mins during exercise to indicate their ratings of perceived exertion (target range: 3-5). Participants were positively reinforced verbally with compliments for their efforts in the training program and their daily improvements were visualized through graphs kept in the child's home.