A Concretized Intervention to Support Shape Matching Skills in Children with Autism: Adapted Physical Activity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70736/spjses.333Keywords:
Adapted physical activity, autism, concretized instruction, shape matching skill, single-subject research modelAbstract
This study aims to examine the effect of adapted physical activity exercises applied to autistic children in early childhood on the acquisition, retention, and generalization of shape matching skills. The study was conducted with three male children with autism, aged between 4 and 5 years, who were enrolled in a special education and rehabilitation center affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Kırşehir, Türkiye. A multiple probe design across participants, one of the single-subject research designs, was employed. Effectiveness data were collected using the “Shape Matching Checklist” and the “Family Social Validity Form,” both developed by the researchers. In addition, two types of reliability data-treatment integrity and interobserver agreement-were gathered. The intervention process lasted 12 weeks. Baseline, instructional, probe, maintenance, and generalization sessions were planned for each participant, and structured adapted physical activity activities were implemented individually during the instructional phase. The obtained data were analyzed using graphical analysis. The findings indicated that all participants demonstrated low performance levels during baseline, reached 100% accuracy at the end of the instructional phase, and maintained their acquired skills during maintenance sessions. Furthermore, during generalization sessions, participants were able to demonstrate the learned shape-matching skills across different settings and materials. In conclusion, the adapted physical activity-based and embodied intervention approach was found to be an effective method for teaching shape-matching skills to children with autism.
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