UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
Regular physical activity plays an important role in health and disease prevention. In our parent grant Correlates of Physical Activity in Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities (ID), we are examining physical activity levels, sedentary behavior, and factors associated with physical activity among adolescents with ID and typically developing adolescents. This administrative supplement offers us the opportunity to expand the parent grant by including an additional group of adolescents with developmental disabilities: those with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Our parent grant began in Sept 2009, and our understanding is that this supplement would be funded in September 2010, thus coinciding with Year 2 of the parent grant. This timing is excellent, as participant recruitment and enrollment activities will be ongoing and active during this time. The comparison group of typically developing adolescents that we are recruiting in the parent study will also serve as the comparison group in the proposed supplement. By collecting data on the physical activity levels and psychosocial correlates of physical activity in adolescents with ASDs, we will have the information we need to allow us to develop of targeted physical activity interventions. The Specific Aims of the proposed supplement to the parent project are to: 1) Compare time spent in moderate and vigorous physical activity and in structured activities between adolescents ages 13-18 with ASDs and typically developing adolescents; 2) Compare time spent in sedentary behavior between adolescents with ASDs and typically developing adolescents; and 3) Compare the individual, family, and community factors associated with physical activity and sedentary behavior between adolescents with ASDs and typically developing adolescents. Thirty (N=30) adolescents ages 13-18 with ASDs without ID will participate in the study. Physical activity levels will be measured objectively using accelerometers over 7 consecutive days. Through questionnaires and interviews with the adolescent participants and their parents, we will gather information on demographics, adolescent and parent participation in physical activity, barriers and supports to physical activity, the importance that parents and adolescents place on physical activity, and adolescent enjoyment and self-efficacy in relation to physical activity. The health needs of youth with ASDs have been under-represented in research efforts, and thus, they represent an under-served population. The proposed project seeks to address this gap by describing the physical activity patterns of adolescents with ASDs. We will also identify the individual, family, and community factors associated with physical activity to determine whether they are different than those found in typically developing adolescents. This information will have direct implications for the development of physical activity programs specific to meeting the needs of adolescents with ASDs. How the proposed supplement relates to the parent grant This administrative supplement proposal seeks funding to expand upon the scientific impact of the parent grant Correlates of physical activity in children with intellectual disabilities R21 HD0059100-01A2. The purpose of the parent study is to compare physical activity levels, time spent in sedentary behavior, and the factors associated with physical activity between adolescents with intellectual disabilities and typically developing adolescents ages 13-18. The proposed supplement provides us with a unique opportunity to expedite research on physical activity participation among youth with developmental disabilities by expanding our sample to include an additional group of understudied adolescents: adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. The opportunity to expand our parent project via funding from an administrative supplement would allow us to capitalize on the parent grant and maximize the outcomes of the study