It is increasingly clear that obesity in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is an important public health concern. Despite this, research shows a lack of consensus on how to address this issue. The current dissertation presents data from an observational study of children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), investigating their fundamental movement skills, body composition, and moderate - to - vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA). This observational study found the largest difference between diagnostic groups in fundamental movement skills (F (1,26) = 24.71, p < 0.001), followed by body composition (F (1, 26) = 6.34, p = 0.02), and no difference in MVPA (F (1, 26) = 0.11, p = 0.75). This dissertation also presents results from an Applied Behavior Analysis fundamental movement skills intervention for preschoolers with ASD. The intervention is the first of its kind implemented in early intensive behavioral intervention centers, an ecologically valid environment with wide reach. Motor scores showed improvement relative to the control group (F (1, 12) = 4.98; p = 0.02). Behavior technicians implementing the study expressed polarized views on the feasibility of the intervention, rating the intervention low in feasibility overall. Despite inclusion of a social play component in the intervention, there were no benefits observed in their existing behavioral intervention therapy progress (F (1,12) = 0.06, p = 0.81). These results can be used to advocate for (a) increased research attention to physical development in ASD, (b) continued fundamental movement skill training for children with ASD, and (c) cross-disciplinary collaboration between the fields of clinical Psychology and Kinesiology.
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