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People with autism are less likely to be physically active and more likely to be sedentary. A number of studies have looked into different physical activities, both group based and individually, on improvements in health as well as core features of autism, and most have had positive results. New animal model research demonstrates a benefit of exercise using the maternal immune activation model of ASD, pruning back the excess of connections and cell fibers. As people with autism also have too many connections in the brain, this may have a direct therapeutic benefit. But besides all the scientific conjecture, we all need more exercise, physical activity interventions seem to only help, not hurt, people across the spectrum, and should be used to complement, not replace existing therapies.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29693781
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31102193
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-019-04050-9
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/retrieve/pii/S2211124719306266?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2211124719306266%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
