Kou (2024) Comparative effectiveness of physical exercise interventions on sociability and communication in children and adolescents with autism a systematic review and network meta-analysis

This systematic review and network meta-analysis examines the comparative effectiveness of various physical exercise interventions on sociability and communication in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The analysis included 38 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with 1,382 participants for sociability outcomes and 25 RCTs with 904 participants for communication outcomes.

Key findings reveal that sports games, combination therapy, group ball sports, outdoor exercises, and mind-body exercises are significantly more effective than passive control groups. Combination therapy (e.g., physical exercise with music or social storytelling) had the strongest impact on communication skills, with a standardized mean difference (SMD) of 1.57. Sports games showed the most substantial improvement in sociability, with an SMD of 1.12.

Aquatic exercises also demonstrated benefits for social communication, though fewer studies directly compared them to other interventions. The study underscores the importance of exercise intensity, type, and duration, but found no significant moderating effects of age or intervention duration.

This research emphasizes the role of structured physical activity in alleviating core ASD symptoms, supporting its use as a non-pharmacological intervention to enhance quality of life.