Developing equitable fitness assessments for youth with autism and other developmental disabilities

The FitnessGram for ALL Initiative will develop an updated version of the FitnessGram test battery that is inclusive of students with disabilities including youth with autism and other developmental disabilities (autism/DD). FitnessGram is the leading physical fitness test battery for physical education in the United States. However FitnessGram is not inclusive of many students with disabilities lacking both evidence-based accommodations and representation (e.g. disability specific norm- and criterion-referenced standards). This is a significant issue as both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) specify that students with disabilities must be evaluated with valid and reliable instruments. The lack of appropriate fitness measures also limits the quality of research on health promotion programs and interventions for this population. Alternative fitness assessments have been developed for students with disabilities (i.e. Brockport Physical Fitness Test) but are based on limited validity/reliability evidence and outdated normative samples. Notably students with autism represent 12% of students served under IDEA but youth with autism are not covered under the current Brockport test. This is a significant gap underscoring the need for urgent action to redefine validate and norm fitness tests that are equitable for students with autism/DD served under IDEA and Section 504. This will be achieved through three aims: 1) Determine the measurement properties (i.e. reliability validity feasibility) of fitness test scores. We will directly measure a sample of 650 students with autism/DD ages 10-21 years with multiple assessments to evaluate the measurement properties of each fitness test. Test items will also be examined by a panel of experts to determine content validity. 2) Identify facilitators and barriers of implementing equitable fitness assessment. We will use a mixed methods design to survey and interview 200 physical education teachers on current practices and self-efficacy of equitable assessment. A sub-sample of students with autism/DD will also be interviewed to capture the lived experiences of fitness assessment. 3) Develop representative norms and criterion-referenced standards for fitness test items. We will convene a national network of 100 U.S. schools with a formalized community of practice of physical education teachers to collect fitness data for a national field test of 2 000 students with autism/DD ages 10-21 years. National data will be used to statistically determine normative and criterion-referenced standards to be implemented in the updated fitness battery. This work directly addresses the health equity component of the MCHB's Blueprint for Change and multiple Autism FIRST program objectives including 1) the generation of new evidence that can inform health intervention effectiveness 2) primary data collection of children adolescents and young adults (up to age 21) with autism/DD and 3) the use of nationally representative samples to produce generalizable evidence for individuals with autism/DD.