Quantifying Physical Activity Dose within Applied Behavior Analysis Therapy for Autistic Youth: A Systematic Review

Project Overview
This project will conduct a systematic review to examine the role of physical activity within applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy sessions for autistic children. While ABA is widely used to support skill development and behavior change, little is known about how often and in what ways physical activity is incorporated into these interventions.

The primary aim of this review is to quantify the extent to which ABA therapy involves physical activity. The secondary aim is to describe the “dose” of physical activity delivered during therapy sessions that include movement—specifically the type, frequency, intensity, and duration of activities.

Undergraduate Student Role
Students will gain hands-on experience and authorship in the research process by:

• Learning systematic review methodology and evidence synthesis.
• Assisting with database searches and screening of peer-reviewed articles.
• Extracting and coding data related to physical activity components in ABA interventions.
• Contributing to descriptive and quantitative analyses of physical activity dose.
• Participating in team discussions about implications for autism intervention design and health promotion.
• Learning how to write the methods and results sections (which will result in authorship)

Essay Prompt

In your essay, please be sure to describe why you are interested in working on this project, what skills you would be most interested in gaining, and what you hope to do after you graduate (if you've thought that far ahead!).