Physical activity (PA) is vital for children's health and well-being, defined as any muscle-induced bodily movement increasing energy expenditure. Early PA engagement is linked to lifelong active lifestyles 1, 2. International guidelines recommend at least 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous PA for children to gain physiological, psychological, and social-emotional benefits, while reducing inactivity-related health risks 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Unfortunately, autistic children often fall short of meeting these guidelines, facing increased risks of secondary conditions related to obesity 8, 9, 10.

The last decade saw a significant growth in intervention research aiming to enhance PA behavior and mitigate inactivity-related health risks for autistic children [11]. Successful interventions, documented in systematic reviews 12, 13, 14 and meta-analyses [15], coexist with persistent barriers hindering autistic children's PA engagement. Barriers include limited participation in physical education programs [16], lack of sports opportunities, absence of adapted equipment [17], and, in some cases, insufficient parental knowledge to support their autistic children's PA18, 19, 20. The importance of parental attitudes in supporting physical activity for their children underscores the necessity for physical activity professionals to provide positive education to parents in this domain. This emphasizes the direction of our research focus.

In early childhood, parents play a pivotal role as primary teachers for their children, expressing a desire to educate and involve their autistic children in PA 18, 21. However, they often lack the skills to do so safely [20]. For instance, in a study by Columna et al [18], parents expressed a need for a support structure encouraging PA and sought expert assistance in teaching techniques. Programs addressing this gap are crucial, equipping parents with skills to teach and advocate for PA opportunities, enhancing communication between parents and PA specialists. Despite this need, few PA interventions exist that center on parents of autistic children and teach them how to encourage PA for their children 19, 20, 22. In a study by Columna et al. [20], researchers trained parents of autistic children on how to teach their children motor skills, and when instructed by their parents, the children were able to improve their fundamental motor skills. However, this is just one of few examples, and more research is critically needed to further explore how to teach parents how to engage their autistic children in PA and include the entire family [19].

Parental involvement is key for autistic children's societal participation and PA 21, 23. As such, steps must be taken to ensure that parents have the skills necessary to promote, encourage, and instruct their children to live physically active lifestyles [19]. Ensuring parents possess the skills to promote active lifestyles requires customized PA interventions [18]. Such interventions should provide information on the benefits of physical activity, a variety of activity options, guidance on modifying activities for success, and support in overcoming common barriers, such as equipment limitations 6, 7, 20, 24.

This study is theoretically grounded in Ajzen [25] theory of planned behavior (TPB). TPB posits that behavioral, normative, and control belief aggregates shape expectations and values for a target behavior (e.g., engaging in physical exercise with an autistic child). These aggregates contribute to attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, ultimately leading to intentions, like parents’ intention to involve their children with ASD in PA 26, 27. In this study, we specifically focus on attitudes→intentions→behaviors pathway, centering our data collection, analysis, and interpretation on understanding parents' attitudes, intentions, and self-reported behaviors related to their child engaging in PA. According to TPB, behavioral beliefs drive the formation of attitudes, explaining parental attitudes. Attitudes reflect feelings toward the target behavior (e.g., engaging children in PA) and are shaped by perceived consequences and the evaluation of their desirability [28]. We considered TPB's application optimal for analyzing parental intentions after a 12-week PA intervention, teaching strategies to maximize PA participation for autistic children.

Despite documented benefits of parental involvement in physical activity and the limited inclusion of parents' perspectives in studies on autistic children in PA settings[19], further research is crucial to explore the impact of interventions. Understanding this impact is essential for identifying strategies to maximize and promote PA for these families, ultimately contributing to an improved quality of life. Insights from such PA interventions may contribute to better serving families of autistic children regarding PA opportunities. Therefore, our study aims to examine parents' attitudes and intentions to involve their autistic children in PA after participating in a 12-week intervention. We sought to answer the following research questions:

What are the parents’ attitudes to participate in PA with their families after participating in a PA intervention?

What are the parents’ intentions to participate in PA with their families after participating in a PA intervention?