SKIPping With PALS: Exploring Parental Engagement in a Motor Intervention for Their Preschool Children.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore how parent involvement influenced the effectiveness of a movement intervention targeting gross motor skills and physical activity behavior in preschool-aged boys and girls. Methods: Parents received training at monthly school-based sessions and online to implement the movement intervention once per month at school and once per week at home across 6 months (N = 104; Mage = 48.30 months, SD = 6.90). Children completed the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 at baseline and wore physical activity trackers 24/7 for six weeks during the intervention. COVID-19 disrupted the intervention and prevented immediate post testing. Children (N = 60; Mage = 60.86 months, SD = 6.57) who returned to the center one year later completed gross motor skill retention testing. Results: For each additional school-based session attended by the parents (up to six), children's locomotor and manipulative skills were 1.87 and 1.95 points higher, respectively, at the start of the following academic year. For physical activity, each session increase in attendance at the school-based component of the intervention resulted in an additional 1455 steps in average weekly step count. Conclusion: Increased parent engagement demonstrated greater change in gross motor skills and larger acute physical activity responses. Understanding barriers that impact the level of parental intervention engagement (i.e., dose) also provides insight into why some children learn and others do not within a parent-led intervention. Although the implementation and results of this study were impacted by COVID, these data can help researchers optimize future intervention strategies.

Parents' Perspectives of Physical Activity in Their Adult Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Social-Ecological Approach.

The purpose of this study was to investigate parent perceptions of the physical activity (PA) engagement of their adult children with autism spectrum disorders. The theoretical framework used in this study was social ecology. Participants were nine parents from families with one adult child with autism spectrum disorder whose ages ranged from 18 to 42. Using phenomenological interviews, which explored parents' life experience and meaning making, four themes were generated: supports and advocacy for PA, engaging in PA independently, benefits of PA, and barriers to or reasons for disengaging in particular activities. Parents' interview comments showed that intrapersonal factors, interpersonal relationships, and community factors were essential for keeping the individuals with autism spectrum disorder engaged in PA. Families and practitioners can take advantage of that by seeking PA opportunities in community settings or with other individuals.