Physical activity for children with autism spectrum disorder during COVID-19 pandemic.

In December 2019, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, China that culminated in a serious pandemic condition. Physical distancing restrictions were a significant component of the public health emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For children and youth, these restrictions included safety measures that impacted daily activities related to physical activity (PA) participation worldwide. Preliminary evidence suggests that in children with special needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), COVID-19 restrictions may have disproportionally led to reduced levels of PA. The aim of this study was to review the benefits of PA for children with ASD and suggest Home PA Program examples for Children with ASD during COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine time.

From emotional intelligence to suicidality: a mediation analysis in patients with borderline personality disorder.

BACKGROUND: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness with a high suicidality rate between 40 and 85%. However, little is known concerning psychosocial risk and protective factors associated with suicidal behaviors in this clinical group. The main focus of the present study was on examining the relationship of emotional intelligence (EI) with suicidal behaviors and its mediators (e.g., depression, self-esteem, addiction potential, and disorder severity) among patients with BPD. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 220 participants (including 110 patients with BPD and 110 healthy controls) in Zahedan, Iran, were examined using clinical interviewing and self-report measures of EI, suicidal behaviors, depression, self-esteem, addiction potential, and BPD symptom severity. The data were analyzed using SPSS v25.0 software at the significance level of p < 0.05. RESULTS: Our preliminary analysis showed higher levels of EI, depression, and self-esteem in the BPD group in comparison to healthy controls (p < 0.001). Furthermore, our findings showed that higher levels of addiction potential, BPD symptom severity, and depression and lower levels of self-esteem and EI were likely to be related to suicidal behaviors of the BPD group. Our results also supported the overall hypothesis that addiction potential, depression, BPD symptom severity, and self-esteem had a mediating role in the impact of EI on suicidal behaviors in the BPD group. CONCLUSIONS: According to these findings, we have come to believe that training EI possibly plays a directly and/or indirectly potential preventive and therapeutic role in suicidal behaviors among patients with BPD. However, further longitudinal studies must be carried out to clarify the cause and effect relationship between EI, depression, self-esteem, addiction potential, BPD symptom severity, and suicidal behaviors.

Playing games can improve physical performance in children with autism.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by deficits in social communication, interaction, and stereotypical behaviours. Children with ASD have not enough opportunities to participate in physical activity (PA), which lead to increase fitness and health problem. The aim of this study was to compare two programs on motor skills. In the current investigation, 30 high functioning autistic children were diagnosed by a psychiatrist and randomly divided into control and experimental groups. The evaluation tools included the Brininx-Oresetsky Test (BOT) and a program named "I can have physical literacy" (ICPL) and Sport, Play, and Active Recreation for Kids (SPARK). The experimental intervention groups received sixteen sessions of 60 min, while the control group did not receive any treatment. Analysis of covariance was used to determine the difference between the groups. Post-hoc test was used to compare pairs of groups. Results showed that the experimental ICPL and Spark groups had increased motor skills (MS). There were significant differences between groups on gross motor skills. There were significant differences between the control and experimental ICPL groups, and between the experimental Spark and experimental ICPL groups. Both of these programs increased MS. ICPL program that address the characteristics of children with ASD, have a positive effect on their MS.