The potential to impact 1 million children with autism.
As we finish our third year of practices at Washington University in St. Louis and begin at Case Western Reserve University, it is wonderful to consider how far we have come and how much progress we have yet to make.
Since 2015, Step Ahead has impacted nearly 100 children from 80 families in the St. Louis region. Incredible relationships have developed between athletes and coaches, and families have found a community through involvement with Bear Cubs.
Throughout our continuous effort to grow and improve, our mission remains the same: impacting and improving the lives of children with autism and their families. The consistent dedication of our volunteer college student-athletes makes this mission possible. Every athlete’s experience of Step Ahead, grounded in fun and the joy of exercise, helps them develop into confident and happier individuals. With your continued support, I am confident that we can connect thousands of college student-athletes with families of children with autism across the country.
85%
of all athletes show improvement in running within 1 season
100
children impacted since 2015
120
volunteer student-athletes
90%
seasonal coach retention
Statistically significant improvements in running times.
In order to demonstrate tangible improvements throughout and between seasons, we hold "time trials" for our athletes, in which they run 400m with their best effort. These times are recorded, compiled, and analyzed for statistical significance.
Fifty-two children invested in tracking their own progress over the course of the program (N=38 boys, N=14 girls) had repeated measures of 400-meter lap time recorded over the course of the 5 seasons. We observed statistically significant improvements between the base lap time (M= 185.46, SD = 56.93) and subsequent best lap time (M= 159.87, SD = 49.72), t(51) = 4.92, p ≤ .05, with a mean improvement of nearly 30 seconds (Cohen’s effect size, d = 0.45). These gains were sustained over successive seasons in analysis of the subset of this this group who participated in successive seasons.
Featured in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Coach CJ and athlete Kai finish first 1 mile race
Physical and Psychosocial Impact of a University-Based, Volunteer Student-Led Running Program for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are frequently excluded from group sports.This accentuates the social isolation inherent in their condition, perpetuates cycles of perceived incompetence in physical activity, and increases susceptibility to weight gain influenced by psychotropic medications. In a 2015 study of 376 children with ASD, 18.1% of children were overweight and 17% were obese.
Scarcity of opportunity to participate on athletic teams can contribute to this liability and compound the social isolation inherent in the condition. Thus, programs that combine relationship building with physical conditioning present a double opportunity to offset significant hurdles for children with ASD. To address these needs locally, a group of volunteer college student-athletes (led by co-author Annie Marggraff) established a weekly Sunday afternoon program for athletic opportunity for children with ASD in the community. The program, Bear Cubs Running Team, was piloted over 5 successive semesters at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri to empower children with ASD to set achievable physical conditioning goals, provide a forum to support their families, and increase college students’ awareness of barriers against and opportunities to meaningful improvements in health and quality of life.
Join us in our goal of elevating 1 million lives of children with autism .
