physical activity levels in iranian children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Background: autism spectrum disorder is a neuro-developmental disorder with a significant deficiency in communication characteristics, social interactions and stereotyped behaviors. aim: the purpose of this study was to investigate physical activity participation in iranian children and adolescent with autism spectrum disorders. materials and methods: the research method was descriptive and survey. the statistical samples were 370 children and adolescent with asd, age 8-20 years from iran. the international physical activity questionnaire for older children and adolescents used for measuring physical activity levels. data analyzed by using spss23. results: the results showed that 73.8% of participants were inactive during the last 7 days; 17.8% of them were active occasionally (1 to 2 times); 6.5% (3 to 4 times) and 1.1% (5 to 6 times) were physically active. during the last 7 days on weekends, 58.2% reported usually sitting position, 22.2% walking or standing, and 14.6% running or active playing and only 1.1% reported lots of running or playing. there was no significant difference in physical activity levels between girls and boys. conclusion: the results showed the limited participation in physical activity among iranian children and adolescents with asd. this study seems to be a helpful for identifying the patterns and promotion of physical activity.