Use It or Lose It: Bicycle Riding Maintenance in Autism

Background/Purpose: Bicycle riding is a common physical activity for youth in the United States, but can be difficult to learn for youth with disabilities (i.e. autism spectrum disorders; ASD).  A recent intervention was able to teach 85.4% of participants with ASD to ride a two-wheeled bicycle (MacDonald et al., 2012).  However, many of these riders failed to maintain the skill when riding behavior was assessed three months following the intervention (Hauck et al., 2013).  The health benefits of acquiring a new physical activity behavior are only possible if it is maintained.  The purpose of this study was to teach a new cohort of youth with ASD to ride a bicycle and examine the influence of practice on the maintenance of independent bicycle riding. 

Method: A total of 38 youth (21% female; 9-18 years, M=11.80) with a confirmed ASD diagnosis were enrolled in the intervention.  33 participants (86.8%) acquired the skill of independent bicycle riding.  We followed each rider for the next 12 weeks to promote continued bicycle riding. Parents completed logs to document the number of days the participant rode during each of the first 12 weeks, at 3 months, and again at 1 year post training.  Maintenance of bicycle riding was defined as riding at least 1 time per week when assessed at 3 months and 1 year.  Welch’s t-tests were used to examine differences.

Analysis/Results: In total, 60% of the participants with ASD maintained bicycle riding 1 year after acquisition.  Participants who practiced riding on ≥3 of the first 12 weeks were more likely to still be riding at 3 months (t(9.12)=2.49, p=.034).  At 1 year following the intervention, participants were more likely to still be riding if they had acquired ≥7 weeks of practice (t(23.79)=2.16, p=.041). Participants with ≥5 weeks (t(18.36)=2.46, p=.024) and ≥8 weeks (t(27.85)=2.28, p=.030) of practice rode for more days per week at 3 months and 1 year, respectively, than participants with less practice.

Conclusions: Although a substantial proportion of our cohort were not able to maintain bicycle riding at 3 months or 1 year, the participants that consistently practiced bicycle riding were more likely to maintain the behavior.  To increase physical activity, practice is critical for youth with ASD to maintain this skill and health enhancing behavior.  Programs and community organizations that provide bicycle training in this population may need to develop formal opportunities for practice after initial acquisition to increase behavior maintenance.