Why Play Is the Secret Ingredient in Building Stronger Minds and Bodies

If you've ever watched a child light up during a game of tag versus zoning out during a repetitive drill, you already know something researchers just confirmed in a new study: how kids move matters just as much as that they move.

A 2026 study published in the Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior looked at children with learning disorders and found that play-based movement training didn't just improve coordination — it boosted working memory too. The findings line up closely with what we believe here at Growing Minds, and they're shaping how we've designed our upcoming summer camp.

What the Researchers Did

Ghasemian and Mohammadzadeh followed 36 girls, averaging about 8.4 years old, all with diagnosed learning disorders, over an 8-week period. The children were split into groups:

• One group did sensory-motor exercises using the "Game Sense" approach — playful, exploratory movement activities.

• One group did traditional drill-style exercises — structured, repetitive movement instruction.

• One group did no additional exercise at all.

At the end of 8 weeks, the researchers measured changes in working memory, visual-motor coordination, and upper-limb speed and agility.

What They Found

The Game Sense group came out ahead across the board:

• Working memory — the ability to hold and use information in the moment — improved significantly more than in either of the other groups.

• Visual-motor control (eye-hand coordination) showed the single largest gain of any skill measured.

• Upper-limb speed and agility also improved meaningfully.

• Just as important: children in the Game Sense group stayed more motivated and showed less fatigue during sessions compared to the drill-based group.

In other words, the kids who got to play, explore, and make choices during movement didn't just enjoy themselves more — they actually learned more.

Why Play-Based Movement Works

The Game Sense approach flips the typical instruction model. Instead of a child being told exactly what to do and how to do it, they're given a goal or a game and encouraged to problem-solve their way through it — deciding how to move, when to move, and how to adapt as the activity changes.

This kind of open-ended decision-making engages the brain far more actively than rote repetition does. At the same time, these games tend to naturally combine input from multiple sensory systems at once — the vestibular system (balance and spatial orientation), the proprioceptive system (body awareness, touch, and pressure), and the visual system. Activating these systems together appears to support broader brain development, which may explain why the cognitive benefits (like working memory) showed up alongside the physical ones.

What This Means for Early Learners on the Autism Spectrum

This is where the research feels especially relevant to the families we work with. Many early learners on the autism spectrum experience sensory processing differences and fine motor delays — and traditional, highly structured drills can sometimes increase anxiety or disengagement rather than reduce it.

A play-first, choice-driven approach offers a different path. By embedding skill-building inside games and movement exploration rather than rigid step-by-step instruction, children can:

• Stay more engaged and motivated throughout a session

• Experience lower anxiety around skill practice

• Build motor, cognitive, and social skills simultaneously, rather than in isolation

It's not just a "nicer" way to practice skills — it appears to be a more effective one.

Bringing This to Life: Our 8-Week Summer Camp

Inspired by these findings, we've built an 8-week summer camp program specifically for early learners (ages 4–8) on the autism spectrum, grounded in Game Sense principles.

Each week centers around a fun, immersive theme, with daily 60-minute sessions built around:

• Movement — gross and fine motor activities woven into games rather than drills

• Sensory play — activities that engage vestibular, proprioceptive, and visual systems together

• Choice — opportunities for children to lead, problem-solve, and explore within each activity

Our goal is simple: give children a summer that feels like play, while building the working memory, coordination, and confidence that set them up for success well beyond August.

Interested in learning more or reserving a spot for your child? Reach out to our team to find out which week's theme might be the perfect fit.

Reference: Ghasemian, S., & Mohammadzadeh, H. (2026). The impact of sensory-motor integration exercises using the Game Sense Approach on working memory and fine motor skills in children with learning disorder. Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior, 19(1).