TITLE:
Drums-Alive Intervention Effect on the Motor and Functional Skills in Youth with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study
AUTHORS:
Qin Yang, Jinjin Yang, Elizabeth Keener, Juntack Oh, Agueda Gomes, Suzanna Dillon
KEYWORDS:
Youth, Intellectual Disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Drums-Alive, Motor Skills, Attention, Behavior
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Physical Education,
Vol.11 No.1,
January
14,
2021
ABSTRACT: 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. Therefore,
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.