A charity has partnered with the University of Salford to run an autism training project.
Seashell Trust, a national children’s charity based in Cheadle, Stockport, Greater Manchester, is participating in the project to test whether exercise can help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
They hope to find out if exercise can improve the children’s sleep and their ability to learn new words.
Seashell is offering free swimming lessons for children participating in the project and is working with researchers from the University of Salford to assess whether the exercise has any benefits.
The inclusive classes take place on the charity’s Cheadle Hulme website.
Seashell Joint Active Leader Heather Potter said: “Our active team has been providing inclusive swimming lessons for over 10 years and has extensive experience teaching swimming to people of all abilities.
“We are very excited to be working with the University of Salford to work on the Autism Training Project.
“The team is looking forward to working with the participants and we hope for a longer sleep time and quality of sleep for the children.
“It’s fantastic to work with the university on such an exciting, important and impactful project.”
In the UK, approximately 1% of the population has ASD with approximately 150,000 children and their families living with the disease.
Communication skills are one of the primary concerns of families – as learning new words can be more difficult for children with ASD than their normally developing peers.
Sleep is also an important topic as it helps solidify memories, including learning the meanings of new words and using them appropriately.
Lack of sleep can therefore make it even more difficult for children with ASD to develop their communication skills.
The Salford Autism Exercise Project monitors children’s sleep before, during, and after exercise.
Participants will also be tested for their ability to learn new words at three points during the intervention to assess whether exercise and / or improved sleep are beneficial to learning new words.
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Dr. Amy Bidgood, Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at the University of Salford, said, “The Salford Autism Exercise Project is about helping children with Autism Spectrum Disorders / Conditions and their families improve sleep through exercise.
“We are fortunate to be working with Seashell as our partners on this project because they have such great staff and facilities to provide swimming lessons, as well as the expertise and experience working with children with ASD and their families.”
For more information on the project, please email AutismExerciseProject@Salford.ac.uk
