Organized Sports-Based Interventions Can Improve Gross Motor Skills in Autism

THURSDAY, July 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) — For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), organized sports-based interventions may improve gross motor skills, with the most consistent benefits seen for martial arts and aquatic training, according to a review published online July 22 in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology.

Kailash Ram, from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and colleagues reviewed four databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and nonrandomized controlled trials (NRCTs) that reported motor outcomes of organized sports-based interventions in children with ASD. Eleven studies (six RCTs and five NRCTs) were included and reported on martial arts, aquatic training, gymnastics and trampoline, and other sports (five, two, three, and two, respectively).

The interventions most consistently improved balance, locomotor skills, total motor scores, and object control skills (d, 0.18 to 4.99, 0.63 to 2.02, 0.61 to 3.90, and 1.10 to 3.83, respectively); across martial arts and aquatic training, the effects were mainly moderate to large. In five RCTs, the risk for bias was high, and there was some concern of bias in one; four NRCTs had a serious risk for bias and one had a critical risk.

“Organized sports-based interventions may offer benefits beyond recreation for children with autism by supporting motor skill development,” coauthor Sonia Khurana, P.T., Ph.D., also from Old Dominion University, said in a statement. “While our review identified promising effects, particularly for martial arts and aquatic training, larger and more rigorous studies are needed to confirm these benefits and guide evidence-based recommendations.”

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