Introduction
Overview
Recently, research has proposed effective ways to intervene with people living with ASD in order to optimize their integration in sports and physical activity. In particular, there have been suggested ecologic, cost-effective and scalable approaches. These smart strategies have to be disclosed to teachers, educators and instructors of all kind of sports. They should be aware of the barriers related to ASD, and should be also capable of implement strategies to overcome this barriers in order to include people with ASD in sport activities. Specifically, they should focus on the social environment, the kind of activity proposed, communication strategies \cite{Duquette_2016}.
Barriers
As briefly mentioned above, when it comes to engage in physical activities or playing sports (especially team sports), there are some barriers related to the ASD condition.
ASD-related
Barriers related to ASD include repetitive, obsessional, or compulsive activities as well as communication and social interaction challenges. When engaging in sport and physical activity, a young person with ASD might have a hard time understanding a play, paying attention to the rules, anticipating, and elaborating good strategies. Some barriers may also be related to their gross motor function
Physical and social environment
As for the physical environment, the barriers are mainly at the sensory level. The texture of a uniform, the feeling of a bathing cap on the head, or the ambient noise during a swimming class, are all examples of barriers identified for people living with ASD.
However, barriers in sports and physical activity are mostly related to the social environment. The attitude and reactions of coaches as well as that of other parents and young people affect a young person with ASD. The social environment also involves other young people in the group. The practiced activity leads young people to interact. Coherence, stability and safety needs can also limit the participation of young people with ASD in sport and physical activity, especially when the activities are new or take place in a new environment with people they don’t know. It is even more difficult for a young person with ASD to feel comfortable in such conditions.
Kind of activity
In addition to the barriers related to ASD and the physical and social environments, some barriers are related to the physical activity itself and may even prevent the young people from participating. In fact, it can be difficult for young people with ASD when the activity is too intense or too competitive. In essence, the activity may not meet the interests or preferences of the young person. Elaborated and hard-to-master sequences of movements, material that is hard to manipulate, or many rules to understand and remember, may make the activity too difficult.