BACKGROUND: Swimming and the skills associated with participation in the aquatic environment tend to be an integral part of the movement literacy complex. Non-participation then affects the safety of movement in the aquatic environment and may also be the reason for the limitation of movement, psychological, and social development compared to peers. METHODS: This study is a single-subject research study. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of a seven-week intervention program of the Halliwick method in the development of aquatic skills, gross motor skills, and mental skills relevant for aquatic competence for children with autism spectrum disorder. Seven children with autism spectrum disorder participated in swimming classes for a two-week baseline period and a seven-week intervention program of the Halliwick method, one time per week. To measure the effect in the field of aquatic skills, we used the Alyn Water Orientation Test 1. To determine the level of gross motor skills, we used the Gross Motor Function Measure test. RESULTS: There was an improvement in aquatic skills and gross motor skills in seven participants; two of them did not improve in mental adjustment oriented to the breathing control sections in the water.

Faculty of Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences KU Leuven 3000 Leuven Belgium

Faculty of Physical Culture Palacky University Olomouc 771 11 Olomouc Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

American Psychiatric Association, DSM-5 Task Force . Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5™. 5th ed. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.; Philadelphia, PA, USA: 2013.

Baio J., Wiggins L., Christensen D.L., Maenner M.J., Daniels J., Warren Z., Kurzius-Spencer M., Zahorodny W., Robinson C., Rosenberg, et al. Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder among Children Aged 8 Years—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2014. MMWR. Surveill. Summ. 2018;67:1–23. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss6706a1. PubMed DOI PMC

Lee J., Porretta D.L. Enhancing the Motor Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Pool-based Approach. J. Phys. Educ. Recreat. Dance. 2013;84:41–45. doi: 10.1080/07303084.2013.746154. DOI

Shams-Elden M. Effect of aquatic exercises approach (Halliwick therapy) on motor skills for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Science. Mov. Health. 2017;17:490–496.

Yanardag M., Erkan M., Yılmaz I., Arıcan E., Düzkantar A. Teaching advance movement exploration skills in water to children with autism spectrum disorders. Res. Autism Spectr. Disord. 2015;9:121–129. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2014.10.016. DOI

Kafkas A.Ş., Özen G. Teaching of Swimming Technique to Children with Autism: A Pilot Study. J. Rehabil. Health Disabil. 2015;1:12–20.

Battaglia G., Agrò G., Cataldo P., Palma A., Alesi M. Influence of a Specific Aquatic Program on Social and Gross Motor Skills in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Three Case Reports. J. Funct. Morphol. Kinesiol. 2019;4:27. doi: 10.3390/jfmk4020027. PubMed DOI PMC

Fournier K.A., Hass C.J., Naik S.K., Lodha N., Cauraugh J.H. Motor Coordination in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Synthesis and Meta-Analysis. J. Autism Dev. Disord. 2010;40:1227–1240. doi: 10.1007/s10803-010-0981-3. PubMed DOI

Lloyd R.S., Faigenbaum A.D., Stone M.H., Oliver J.L., Jeffreys I., Moody J.A., Brewer C., Pierce K.C., McCambridge T.M., Howard R., et al. Position statement on youth resistance training: The 2014 International Consensus. Br. J. Sports Med. 2013;48:498–505. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2013-092952. PubMed DOI

Smith M.J. Teaching Playskills to Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder: A Practical Guide. DRL Books; New York, NY, USA: 2001.

Jones R.A., Downing K., Rinehart N.J., Barnett L.M., May T., McGillivray J.A., Papadopoulos N.V., Skouteris H., Timperio A., Hinkley T. Physical activity, sedentary behavior and their correlates in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A systematic review. PLoS ONE. 2017;12:e0172482. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172482. PubMed DOI PMC

Sherill C. Adapted Physical Education and Recreation. McGraw Hill; New York, NY, USA: 2006.

Utami N.S., Subagyo, Slamet, Hermawan H.A. Systematic Review of Physical Literacy in Aquatic Activity; Proceedings of the 3rd Yogyakarta International Seminar on Health, Physical Education, and Sport Science in Conjunction with the 2nd Conference on Interdisciplinary Approach in Sports; Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 30 August 2019.

Pan C.-Y. The efficacy of an aquatic program on physical fitness and aquatic skills in children with and without autism spectrum disorders. Res. Autism Spectr. Disord. 2011;5:657–665. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2010.08.001. DOI

Becker B.E., Cole A.J. Comprehensive Aquatic Therapy. Washington State University; Pullman, WA, USA: 2011.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation. [(accessed on 15 November 2021)]. Available online: https://myasdf.org/our-programs/swim-lessons/

Halliwick Association of Swimming Therapy The Halliwick Concept. Halliwick AST, 2010. [(accessed on 18 October 2021)]. Available online: https://halliwick.org.uk/about-halliwick-ast/ten-point-programme/

Gresswell A., Mhuiri A.N., Knudsen B.F., Maes J.-P., Koprowski Garcia M., Hadar-Frumer M., Gutierrez Bassas M. The Halliwick Concept 2010. International Halliwick Association Education and Research Committee, 2010. [(accessed on 14 November 2021)]. Available online: https://www.halliwick.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Halliwick-Concept-2010-1.pdf.

Kokaridas D., Lambeck J. The Halliwick concept: Toward a collaborative aquatic approach. Inq. Sport Phys. Educ. 2015;13:65–79.

Garcia M.K., Joares E.C., Silva M.A., Bissolotti R.R., Oliveira S., Battistella L.R. The Halliwick Concept, inclusion and participation through aquatic functional activities. Acta Fisiátrica. 2012;19:142–150. doi: 10.5935/0104-7795.20120022. DOI

Yilmaz I., Yanardağ M., Birkan B., Bumin G. Effects of Swimming Training on Physical Fitness and Water Orientation in Autism. Pediatr. Int. 2004;46:624–626. doi: 10.1111/j.1442-200x.2004.01938.x. PubMed DOI

Rogers L., Hemmeter M.L., Wolery M. Using a Constant Time Delay Procedure to Teach Foundational Swimming Skills to Children with Autism. Top. Early Child. Spéc. Educ. 2010;30:102–111. doi: 10.1177/0271121410369708. DOI

Yilmaz I., Konukman F., Birkan B., O’Zen A., Yanardag M. Effects of Constant Time Delay procedure on the Halliwick’s Method of swimming rotation skills for children with Autism. Educ. Train. Autism Dev. Disabil. 2010;45:124–135.

Martin J. The Halliwick Method. Physiotherapy. 1981;67:288–291. PubMed

Cofee G. Single Subject Research Design. In: Goldstein S., Naglieri J.A., editors. Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer; Boston, MA, USA: 2011.

International Stastical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. [(accessed on 11 August 2022)]. Available online: https://nlk.cz/en/2016/01/mkn10/

Tirosh R., Katz-Leurer M., Getz M.D. Halliwick-Based Aquatic Assessments: Reliability and Validity. Int. J. Aquat. Res. Educ. 2008;2:4. doi: 10.25035/ijare.02.03.04. DOI

Vicente S., Murta H., Sá C., Oliveira J. Cross cultural adaptation of the Water Orientation Test Alyn (WOTA) 1 and 2—Portuguese version. Ann. Med. 2019;51:214. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2018.1560721. DOI

Russell D.J., Avery L.M., Rosenbaum P.L., Raina P.S., Walter S.D., Palisano R.J. Improved Scaling of the Gross Motor Function Measure for Children with Cerebral Palsy: Evidence of Reliability and Validity. Phys. Ther. 2000;80:873–885. doi: 10.1093/ptj/80.9.873. PubMed DOI

Vascakova T., Kudlacek M., Barrett U. Halliwick Concept of Swimming and its Influence on Motoric Competencies of Children with Severe Disabilities. Eur. J. Adapt. Phys. Act. 2015;8:44–49. doi: 10.5507/euj.2015.008. DOI

Güeita-Rodríguez J., Florencio L.L., Arias-Buría J.L., Lambeck J., Fernández-De-Las-Peñas C., Palacios-Ceña D. Content Comparison of Aquatic Therapy Outcome Measures for Children with Neuromuscular and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2019;16:4263. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16214263. PubMed DOI PMC

Pan C.-Y. Effects of water exercise swimming program on aquatic skills and social behaviours in children with autism spectrum disorders. Autism Int. J. Res. Pract. 2010;14:9–28. doi: 10.1177/1362361309339496. PubMed DOI

Prupas A., Harvey W.J., Benjamin J. Early Intervention Aquatics A Program for Children with Autism and their Families. J. Phys. Educ. Recreat. Dance. 2006;77:46–51. doi: 10.1080/07303084.2006.10597829. DOI

Huettig C., Darden-Melton B. Acquisition of aquatic skills by children with autism. Palestra. 2004;20:20–27.

Dimitrijević L., Aleksandrović M., Madić D., Okičić T., Radovanović D., Daly D. The Effect of Aquatic Intervention on the Gross Motor Function and Aquatic Skills in Children with Cerebral Palsy. J. Hum. Kinet. 2012;32:167–174. doi: 10.2478/v10078-012-0033-5. PubMed DOI PMC

Declerck M., Daly D., Feys H. Benefits of Swimming for Children with Cerebral Palsy. A Pilot Study. Serb. J. Sport. Sci. 2013;7:57–69.

Güeita-Rodríguez J., Ogonowska-Slodownik A., Morgulec-Adamowicz N., Martín-Prades M.L., Cuenca-Zaldívar J.N., Palacios-Ceña D. Effects of Aquatic Therapy for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder on Social Competence and Quality of Life: A Mixed Methods Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2021;18:3126. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18063126. PubMed DOI PMC

Mortimer R., Privopoulos M., Kumar S. The effectiveness of hydrotherapy in the treatment of social and behavioral aspects of children with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. J. Multidiscip. Health. 2014;7:93–104. doi: 10.2147/jmdh.s55345. PubMed DOI PMC