the impact of dynamic seating on classroom behavior of students with autism spectrum disorder

objective: children with autism have sitting and on-task behavior problems in class. therefore, the effects of three alternative classroom-seating devices such as regular classroom chairs, therapy balls, and air cushions were examined on students’ classroom behavior. material and method: fifteen autistic students participated in this a-b-a-c multiple treatments, semi-experimental study. students’ behaviors were video recorded in three phases: sitting on their common chairs during phase a, air-sit cushioned in phase b, and ball chairs in phase c. sitting times and on-task behaviors were quantified by momentary time sampling and compared during different phases for important changes during 8 weeks. additionally, the gilliam autism rating scale - second edition test was used to examine stereotyped movements, social and communication skills of the students in the before and after research. results: the findings showed significant increases in in-seat behaviors in 86.7% of the students ( p <0.001) and on-task behaviors in 53.3% of the students (eight out of 15) when seated on therapy balls. air cushions had no significant effects on in-seat/on-task behaviors in this research. the results also showed significant decrease in stereotyped movement and increase in communication and social skills of these students ( p = 0.017). the teachers also preferred the use of the balls and/or air-cushioned chairs for their students. conclusions: while therapy ball chairs facilitated in-seat behavior and decreased autistic behavior of the students with autism spectrum disorder in class, the students’ responses to dynamic seating were different individually.