A longitudinal health promotion program for autistic children and their caregivers: Impact of an urban community-based program

Autistic children, as well as their primary caregivers (e.g., parents), experience greater health disparities when compared with the general population. Despite this reality, there has been relatively little priority placed on promoting positive trajectories of health in either of these underserved populations. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the impact of participation in a 12-month, longitudinal health promotion program designed for both autistic children and their parent. A total of 27 families participated in the intervention, including 29 autistic children (83% male, M = 8.28 ± 3.60 years) and 27 parents (93% female, M = 40.04 ± 7.95). Families attended in-person health promotion programming for 90 min per week. Children and parents were evaluated at four time points across the program, including baseline (0-months), 4-months, 8-months, and 12-months. Children were measured on fundamental motor competence, physical fitness, body composition, and proxy-reported physical activity. Parents were measured on body composition, physical fitness, and self-reported physical activity. Significant improvements were observed for autistic children in motor competence (p < 0.001) and grip strength (p = 0.006), and for parents in body mass index (p = 0.004) and aerobic capacity (p = 0.003) across the 12-month intervention. Differing trajectories of improvement were noted between urban- and suburban-dwelling families on multiple outcomes. The knowledge acquired from this research may offer initial support for the need to bolster opportunities for accessible and ongoing health promotion programs for both autistic children and their parents.