The Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Repetitive Behaviours and Task Performance for Adults with

216 Pages·2017·6.38 MB·English

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Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers
4-13-2017
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Suzanne Ali
University of Windsor
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd
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Ali, Suzanne, "The Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Repetitive Behaviours and Task Performance for Adults
with Autism Spectrum Disorder and an Intellectual Disability" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations.
5926.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5926
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The Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Repetitive Behaviours and Task Performance for
Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and an Intellectual Disability

By

Suzanne Hafiza Ali

A Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies
Through the Department of Kinesiology
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Master of Human Kinetics
at the University of Windsor

Windsor, Ontario, Canada

2016

©2016 Suzanne Hafiza Ali
The effects of aerobic exercise on repetitive behaviours and task performance for adults
with autism spectrum disorder and an intellectual disability

by

Suzanne Hafiza Ali

APPROVED BY:

_____________________________________________
C. Abeare
Department of Psychology

_____________________________________________
P. van Wyk
Department of Kinesiology

_____________________________________________
S. Horton, Co-Advisor
Department of Kinesiology

_____________________________________________
N. Azar ,Co-Advisor
Department of Kinesiology

December 21, 2016
M.H.K. Thesis – S. Ali Windsor- Applied Human Performance
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this
thesis has been published or submitted for publication.
I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon
anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques,
quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis,
published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard
referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted
material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada
Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright
owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such
copyright clearances to my appendix.
I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as
approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has
not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution.

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M.H.K. Thesis – S. Ali Windsor- Applied Human Performance
ABSTRACT
Repetitive behaviours (RB) are one of the main characteristics of Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD). RB are related to a decrease in adaptive functioning for
people with ASD and 31% of people with ASD are diagnosed with an Intellectual
Disability (ID). The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of aerobic exercise on
RB expression immediately after a single session and over the course of several sessions,
and its ability to improve task performance for adults with ASD and ID. Six case studies
were conducted, where participants exercised on a stationary bike twice a week for eight
weeks. Video observations and the Jebsen Hand Function Test (JHFT) were conducted
immediately pre- and post-exercise. The Repetitive Behaviour Scale-Revised (RBS-R)
was administered to a support worker, parent, or guardian pre- and post-intervention.
The changes that occurred in RB from the video observations were specific for each
individual. Further analysis suggested an interaction between certain RB (i.e., pacing and
body rocking), and that some RB are positive expressions and do not need to be reduced.
The JHFT indicated that, for most participants, RB may not influence performance on
short-duration tasks. Due to the variable results, the RBS-R was not a reliable measure of
changes in RB severity for this study. The case studies conducted provided important
information on each participant, their RB, and their progress throughout the program.
Future research would benefit from identifying and reducing specific RB that are deemed
maladaptive rather than attempting to decrease all RB.

iv
M.H.K. Thesis – S. Ali Windsor- Applied Human Performance

DEDICATION

Dad,
For all the times you told me that school should be ‘elementary’ by now.
Mom,
For being there when I tried to explain to Dad that school gets harder.

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M.H.K. Thesis – S. Ali Windsor- Applied Human Performance
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The following is a list of people who made completing my Master’s degree possible.
Your continued support allowed me to grow as an individual and I will be forever
grateful.
Sean Horton and Nadia Azar: for believing that I can achieve more. I thank you both for
your patience, your knowledge, the amount of time you spent helping me, your
compassion, and for allowing me to pursue a topic that I was passionate about.
Individually your friendship is irreplaceable. I could not have asked for a better pair of
advisors to guide me, thank you.
Chad Sutherland: for being my honorary committee member. I have appreciated your
ability to see things that others have missed. Thank you for the time you spent helping
me with my project.
Paula van Wyk: for your deep passion around equality. Thank you for being my internal
committee member.
Christopher Abeare: for inspiring me in your classes and for being an intelligent, but
approachable person. Thank you for being my external committee member.
Vicky Paraschak: for your compassion and caring personality. Thank you for chairing
my thesis defense.
Lynne Shepley and Lori Huson: for being two of the most wonderful people to work with.
Your support in conducting this project was irreplaceable.
Community Living Essex County: for the warm welcome from everyone and for the staff
who stayed past working hours to make sure I could finish conducting my program.
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M.H.K. Thesis – S. Ali Windsor- Applied Human Performance
Southern Network of Specialized Care: for the work that you do and for funding this
research project.
Mom: for your kind loving heart that shows through everything you do and for helping a
much younger reluctant version of myself finish all of her homework.
Dad: for your wisdom and strength of character, qualities that I will always cherish.
Kate Paquin: for embodying the definition of what a true friend is and for always helping
me to look at the bright side.
Cyril Sabutsch: for your unconditional love all of these years and unwavering support. I
could not have gone through this journey without you.

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M.H.K. Thesis – S. Ali Windsor- Applied Human Performance
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY iii
ABSTRACT iv
DEDICATION v
ACKNOWLDEGMENTS vi
LIST OF TABLES xii
LIST OF FIGURES xiii
LIST OF APPENDICES xvi
CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1
CHAPTER 2 Literature Review 6
Overview of ASD 6
Repetitive Behaviours 8
Causes of Repetitive Behaviours 11
Factors that Affect the Appearance of Repetitive Behaviours 15
Assessing Repetitive Behaviours 19
Task Performance and How Repetitive Behaviours Impair Functioning 23
A Measure of Task Performance 25
Interventions used to Treat Repetitive Behaviours 26
Exercise as an Intervention 29
Literature Review Summary 38
CHAPTER 3 Methods 40
Participants 40
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria 40
Setting 42
Treatment and Independent Variable 43
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M.H.K. Thesis – S. Ali Windsor- Applied Human Performance
Aerobic Exercise 43
Exercise Intensity 45
Apparatus and Test Instruments 46
Jebsen Hand Function Test 46
Video Observation 49
Repetitive Behaviour Scale-Revised 51
Procedure 52
Data Analysis 53
CHAPTER 4 Results 57
Participant #1: ‘Dakota’ 57
Dakota: Video Observation 57
Dakota: JHFT Performance 61
Dakota: RBS-R 62
Dakota: Biking Performance 63
Interpretation and Summary of Dakota’s Results 64
Participant #2: ‘Morgan’ 64
Morgan: Video Observation 65
Morgan: JHFT Performance 70
Morgan: RBS-R 70
Morgan: Biking Performance 71
Interpretation and Summary of Morgan’s Results 71
Participant #3: ‘Reese’ 72
Reese: Video Observation 72
Reese: JHFT Performance 77
Reese: RBS-R 80
ix