Mountain therapy: enhancement of cognitive and relational skills in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Background: Mountain therapy (MT) is an innovative therapeutic-educational technique for treating, rehabilitating and preventing socio-health problems; it promotes relationships with oneself and others and stimulates the reacquisition of skills and autonomy. MT offers numerous benefits regarding physical health (i.e., cardiovascular system and neuroprotection), mental health and well-being, improving team spirit and social interaction, acute emotion regulation and quality of life. MT activities support executive functions such as planning, foresight, orientation, and spatial navigation skills. MT was proposed to a group of adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), together with an intervention aimed at enhancing social skills. Methods: Nine adolescents with ASD (level 1 and 2 with average IQ) were involved (Mage: 16,11; SDage=1,5) The following tests were administered pre-intervention (T0): Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop Test, Tower of London (ToL), and Rey complex figure test. Expected results: The project is still ongoing until June 2024. Starting from the literature, it is expected that MT combined with structured activities to strengthen social skills can improve relational and cognitive skills (i.e., planning, forecasting, flexibility and working memory). Current stage of work: The training started in November 2023 and will end in June 2024. After the training, the same tests (T0) will be administered (T1). Discussion: In the literature, various mountain-related activities (e.g. climbing, trekking) have been studied to improve specific cognitive and relational abilities in ASD. With this intervention, we propose verifying which cognitive and relational skills a structured MT activity can act.