Masters Thesis

Being a social climber: the effects of a rock climbing intervention on the social interactions and motor skills of individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often less physically active and less involved in the community than their typically developing peers. This is a major cause for concern because there are many detrimental outcomes of having a physically inactive and secluded lifestyle. Indoor rock climbing may be a good option for adolescents diagnosed with ASD to be involved in the community while getting exercise, due to the sport’s physical and social characteristics. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants with a reversal was used to examine the effects of an interdependent group-oriented contingency on the social interactions between adolescents with ASD and their typically developing peers while rock climbing at an indoor climbing and fitness gym. Social interactions were measured by the rate of positive, negative, and neutral interactions between the participant and peer. The participants’ motor proficiency was also measured prior to and at the end of the study. The results demonstrated that the participants engaged in higher levels of positive social interactions, variable levels of neutral interactions, and zero levels of negative interactions during the interdependent group-oriented contingency phase. All of the participants’ motor proficiency scores had increased by completion of the study.

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