VI. THE ROLE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN REDUCING BARRIERS TO LEARNING IN CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

ABSTRACT Emerging research suggests that physical activity may be an effective non-pharmaceutical intervention approach for childhood develop-mental disorders. Findings indicate that both single bouts of activity and chronic physical activity associate with improvedmental health and classroom performance in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and children with autism spectrumdisorders. This review describes the research in this area and identifies limitations and challenges to the translation of these findings to promote physical activity in clinical practice and educational policy. Concomitant with the pervasiveness of developmental neurobehavioral disorders, trends indicate decreasing participation in physical activity behaviors during childhood (DHHS and DOE, 2000). In particular, children with developmental disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disor-der (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been found to exhibit lower physical activity participation levels than the general pediatric population (Kim, Mutyala, Agiovlasitis, & Fernhall, 2011; Pan & Frey, 2006). As a growing body of evidence has demonstrated a beneficial relation between physical activity and cognitive health in preadolescent children (Castelli