Abstract
Background and Study Aim. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) commonly exhibit reduced participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, partly due to sensory processing differences, motor-coordination difficulties, and limited cultural relevance of conventional physical-education curricula. Although Adapted Physical Education (APE) has demonstrated potential to improve motor and behavioral outcomes in ASD, many evidence-based programmes are implemented without consideration of local cultural contexts, which may constrain motivation, engagement, and sustainability. Previous studies suggest that sensory-informed and game-based interventions can enhance motor coordination, self-regulation, and adaptive functioning; however, culturally grounded approaches remain underexplored in school settings. The present study aimed to design and preliminarily evaluate a culturally anchored, sensory-informed APE programme integrating traditional Kazakh games for children with ASD. We hypothesised that, compared with usual practice, the programme would yield greater short-term improvements in motor coordination, sensory regulation, and adaptive behaviour. Material and Methods. A quasi-experimental, pre–post controlled study was conducted in two mainstream primary schools in Semey, Kazakhstan. Thirty-one children with clinician-confirmed ASD (aged 7–11 years) participated, with one school assigned to the intervention group (n = 16) and the other to a usual-practice control group (n = 15). The intervention comprised ten 55–60-minute APE sessions delivered over eight weeks, integrating graded vestibular and proprioceptive activities with culturally adapted Kazakh traditional games. Primary outcomes were gross-motor coordination (Paediatric Functional Movement Screen), sensory regulation (teacher-rated Sensory Profile-2), and adaptive behaviour (Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales–3). Mixed-effects linear models tested Group × Time interactions, with effect sizes expressed as Hedges’ g and p-values adjusted for multiple comparisons. Results. Attendance in the intervention group averaged 94%, and no adverse events exceeding grade 1 were recorded. Significant Group × Time interactions favoured the intervention for all primary outcomes: motor coordination increased by +12.3 points in the intervention group versus +1.7 in controls (padj = 0.009; g = 1.14); sensory regulation scores improved by +12.3 versus +1.8 (padj = 0.012; g = 0.96); and adaptive behaviour increased by +7.0 versus +1.4 points (padj = 0.041; g = 0.63). Improvements in sensory regulation were positively correlated with motor gains (r = 0.48, p = 0.046). Conclusions. A brief, culturally anchored, sensory-informed APE programme integrating traditional Kazakh games can be implemented safely and with high fidelity in mainstream schools and yields moderate-to-large short-term gains in motor coordination, sensory self-regulation, and adaptive behaviour among children with ASD. These findings support further evaluation of culturally responsive APE models in larger, cluster-randomised trials with extended follow-up.