Sleep, Autonomic Nervous System and Cardiorespiratory Capacity in Autism Spectrum Disorders Children (APAUTRES)

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder which involves social and behavioural impairments. Autonomic dysfunctions and disturbed sleep were often associated to ASD. The investigators proposed to explore the impact of physical activity on these disorders. In this context, it is necessary to characterize the cardiorespiratory capacities of ASD children in order to promote physical activity for this population. To examine potential differences between ASD and control children, some explorations were proposed: a maximal treadmill test, motor evaluation, and orthostatic test (for the evaluation of autonomic nervous system). An actimetry during one week (evaluation of physical activity and sleep) completed this study in order to specify sleep characteristic and established the possible link between physical activity sleep characteristics and physical fitness in ASD children.