Luis Columna, PhD
Professor, Kinesiology
Biography
PhD, Texas Woman’s University
Contact Information
1300 University Ave
201B Service Memorial Institute
Madison, WI 53706
608-890-2916
lcolumna@wisc.edu
Promotion of Health Equity and Adapted Physical Activity (PHEAPA) Lab
Research Statement
Luis Columna’s research program focuses on families and children with developmental disabilities (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome). Through my research we attempt to identify ways to increase the participation of families (especially Hispanic) of children with disabilities into physical activity and also my research focuses on ways to better prepare physical activity professionals to work with diverse populations. To address the physical activity needs of children with disabilities and their parents, Dr. Columna developed the Fit Families Program. Fit Families is a physical activity program that brings together children with disabilities (e.g. visual impairments: autism spectrum disorders), their parents, college students and in-service professionals in the fields of adapted physical education, special educators, psychologist, physical education, and exercise science, among others.
Selected Publications
Barry, A., Haegele, J. A., Schaefer, D., Pickett, K. A., & Columna, L. (2025). Autistic Young Adults’ Experiences and Recommendations for Strength Training. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 10.1007/s10803-025-07017-1. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-025-07017-1
Barry, A., Ku, B., Swarup, G., Christensen, L. A., & Columna, L. (2025). Psychological factors of parental physical activity support among parents of children with disabilities: a meta-analysis. Disability and rehabilitation, 47(10), 2503–2511. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2024.2399222
Swarup, G., Andreae, S., Pickett, K., & Columna, L. (2025). Exploring yoga attitudes and social influences among mothers of autistic children through the theory of planned behavior. Disability and health journal, 101852. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2025.101852
Columna, L., Barry, A., Swarup, G., Pérez-Torralba, A., Prieto, L. A., Meera, B., & Ku, B. (2025). Feasibility of Virtual Fundamental Motor Skill Assessment Using the Test of Gross Motor Development-3. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 1(aop), 1-7.
Barry, A., Haegele, J. A., Pickett, K. A., Schaefer, D., & Columna, L. (2025). Autistic young adults’ experiences in physical activity: A phenomenological study. Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 13623613251338377. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251338377
Meera, B., Fields, B., Healy, S., & Columna, L. (2024). Equine-assisted services for motor outcomes of autistic children: A systematic review. Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 28(12), 3002–3014. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613241255294
Columna, L., McNamarra, S., Myers, B. A., Dosa, N., Barry, A., Roth, K., Ashby, C. E., Ku, B., Davis, T., Borowski, N., & Hooper, L. M. (2024). Assessing parental stress and self-efficacy: A multisite feasibility study of parent-mediated physical activity interventions for children with developmental disabilities. Health promotion perspectives, 14(4), 350–359. https://doi.org/10.34172/hpp.43108
Columna, L., Meera, B., Prieto, L. A., & Haegele, J. A. (2024). The perceived influence of a physical activity intervention on the intentions of parents of autistic children towards physical activities. Disability and health journal, 17(4), 101637. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101637
Bittner, M., Bradshaw, L.; Young, A.; Prieto, L.A., Lavay, B., & Columna, L. (2024) Use of Technology During Test of Gross Motor Development-3 Assessment. PALAESTRA, 38(3), 37-47.
Columna, L., Haegele, J. A., Barry, A., & Prieto, L. (2024). “I Can Do It”: Perceived Competence of Parents of Autistic Children After Participating in a Physical Activity Intervention. Journal of physical activity & health, 21(3), 275–282. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2023-0669
Prieto, L. A., Meera, B., Barry, A., Swarup, G., Asmus, J., Ku, B., Roth, K., Foley, J. T., & Columna, L. (2023). A randomized parent-mediated physical activity intervention for autistic children. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 16(7), 1450–1461. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2969
Prieto, L. A., Meera, B., Katz, H., & Columna, L. (2022). A Feasibility Trial for Virtual Administration of the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Adapted physical activity quarterly: APAQ, 39(4), 446–455. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.2021-0183/apaq.2021-0183
Columna, L., Prieto, L. A., Beach, P., Russo, N., & Foley, J. T. (2021). A Randomized Feasibility Trial of a Fundamental Motor Skill Parent-Mediated Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(23), 12398. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312398
Prieto, L., Norris, M. L., & Columna, L. (2021). “Keep Moving”: Experiences of People With Parkinson’s and Their Care Partners in a Dance Class. Adapted physical activity quarterly: APAQ, 38(2), 307–328. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.2019-0125
Columna, L., Felizola, G., Prieto, L., Myers, B., Streete, D., & Lightburn, A. (2020). The experiences of Hispanic families of children with autism spectrum disorder regarding physical activity. Research in developmental disabilities, 107, 103785. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103785
Prieto, L. A., Haegele, J. A., & Columna, L. (2020). Dance Programs for School-Age Individuals With Disabilities: A Systematic Review. Adapted physical activity quarterly: APAQ, 37(3), 349–376. https://doi.org/10.1123/apaq.2019-0117
Columna, L., Prieto, L., Elias-Revolledo, G., & Haegele, J. A. (2020). The perspectives of parents of youth with disabilities toward physical activity: A systematic review. Disability and health journal, 13(2), 100851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2019.100851
Tunur, T., DeBlois, A., Yates-Horton, E., Rickford, K., & Columna, L. A. (2020). Augmented reality-based dance intervention for individuals with Parkinson’s disease: A pilot study. Disability and health journal, 13(2), 100848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2019.100848
Columna, L., Streete, D. A., Rocco-Dillon, S., Hodge, S. R., Prieto, L., Myers, B., Barreira, T. V., & Heffernan, K. S. (2020). Parents’ intentions toward including their children with visual impairments in physical activities. Disability and rehabilitation, 42(5), 667–678. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2018.1505969
Heffernan, K.S, Columna, L., Prieto, L. Keller, A., Pagan, P., DeBlois, J., Revolledo, G., Myers, B.A., Russo, N., and Barreira, T. (2019). Home and office blood pressure assessment in children with autism spectrum disorder: A feasibility study. Artery Research, 25(3-4), 145-149. https://doi.org/10.2991/artres.k.191123.001
Heffernan, K. S., Columna, L., Russo, N., Myers, B. A., Ashby, C. E., Norris, M. L., & Barreira, T. V. (2018). Brief Report: Physical Activity, Body Mass Index and Arterial Stiffness in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Preliminary Findings. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 48(2), 625–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3358-z