Can Internal Attentional Focus Be Used to Facilitate Motor Learning in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Background: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficult experiences in body precise movements and have difficulty performing common basic movements. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the comparative of attentional focus on motor learning in children with autism disorder. Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design with a retention test. The statistical population consisted of all ten-year-old male students with ASD in Shiraz. Using a convenience sampling technique, 30 autistic students were selected and evenly divided into three groups (n = 10 per group): Control, external focus, and internal focus. The task under investigation was a clay-court tennis ball throw at a designated ground target. Following the pre-test, participants in each group practiced the skill in six blocks of 10 trials each. A retention test, consisting of 10 trials, was administered 48 hours after the post-test. The collected data were analyzed using a mixed model ANOVA via SPSS software (version 26). Results: The results showed that all 3 groups showed significant improvement in performance during the training blocks in the acquisition phase (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the groups. In the retention test, the internal focus group showed the best performance (P ≤ 0.05), but no difference was found between the external focus and control groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Thus, it can be said that children with autism learn better when they exercise and get internal focus instructions. To ascertain the causes causing this conclusion, more research is necessary.