The Effects of Xbox Kinect Active Video Gaming on Executive Function, Inhibition, in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study — Oak Academic Publishing
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The Effects of Xbox Kinect Active Video Gaming on Executive Function, Inhibition, in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Pilot Study
Department of Physical Therapy, University of St. Augustine for the Health Sciences, Augustine, FL, USA
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Department of Physical Therapy, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN, USA
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Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
1 Department of Physical Therapy, University of St. Augustine for the Health Sciences, Augustine, FL, USA
2 Department of Physical Therapy, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN, USA
3 Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of sedentary video gaming (SVG), active video gaming (AVG), and brisk walking (WLK) on inhibition and reaction time using the Flanker task in boys with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We had 9 participants with ASD and 10 age-matched participants without ASD perform 20-minute bouts of each activity, and then had them take the Flanker test. Dependent measures were reaction time (RT) and accuracy (ACC). A Chi-Square analysis revealed that the ASD and TD groups significantly differed in the percent of participants who improved in both of these measures. Next, we looked at each of the conditions exclusively within the ASD group and compared congruent and incongruent trials. In the AVG condition, participants improved a significantly higher percentage on ACC. In the SVG condition, participants improved a significantly higher percentage on incongruent in RT; for ACC, a higher percentage improved on the congruent trials. In WLK, participants improved a significantly higher percentage in RT in the congruent condition.
KeywordsAutism Spectrum DisorderExergamingPhysical ActivityCognitive Function
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