Effects of Aquatic Therapy on Vagal Tone and Social Behaviors in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

s Aquatic therapy has shown behavioral benefits for participants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including social and swimming skills. The mechanism through which aquatic therapy has these effects has not been demonstrated. The present study evaluated the effect of aquatic therapy on vagal tone and behavior in participants with and without ASD (N=64). Measures consisted of social, swimming, emotional and cognitive tasks. Following the aquatic intervention participants with ASD demonstrated an increase in vagal tone while typically developing participants displayed a decrease. The change in vagal tone was positively correlated with social skills in participants with ASD. This study identifies vagal tone a mechanism through which aquatic therapy increases social, emotional and cognitive abilities in those with ASD. The author of this study is an avid swimmer and a clinician experienced in working with children with ASD. In this role, the author discovered a need for aquatic programs tailored for children with ASD as they were not frequently available in the community. Drawing on her two expertise, the author developed an aquatic program for children with ASD. While the intention was only to teach swimming skills, the author noticed improvements is speech and social skills during the aquatic sessions. Surprisingly, nonverbal clients began speaking during the sessions. Multiple families were thrilled with the results of the program, both intended and non-intended. Many of those families continued the program years after their child learned to swim because they were pleased with the social skills improvements seen in the water and following the program. From there, the author began to design a study to test this hypothesis formally.