Baseline behaviour moderates movement skill intervention outcomes among young children with autism spectrum disorder.
Emily Bremer, Meghann Lloyd
PMID 33887962WHAT IT FOUND
Preschoolers with autism who received 12 weeks of movement instruction improved gross motor skills more than waitlist children.
Baseline behaviour changed the size of gains, but benefit was seen even with low adaptive behaviour or high emotional/behavioural challenges; social skills did not matter.
Key findings
01The intervention group improved gross motor skills from baseline to post-test more than the waitlist control group.
02Baseline adaptive behaviour moderated post-test movement skills, and the intervention effect was seen for children with VABS-2 adaptive behaviour composite scores of 69.1 or higher.
03Baseline emotional and behavioural challenges also moderated post-test movement skills (p = 0.06), with the intervention effect seen for CBCL total problems T-scores of 66.1 or lower; baseline social skills did not moderate outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 27 children were studied, and all were from one geographic region, so the findings are preliminary. The sample was predominately male, so it cannot show whether the same moderation pattern applies to girls. ASD diagnosis was parent-reported, and IQ or clinical severity was not measured. The control group continued usual routine, so other supports the children received were not controlled. Assessments were conducted in a university research lab, which may not match community practice. The emotional and behavioural challenge moderation was reported at p = 0.06, which did not meet the study's p < 0.05 threshold for the main tests.
Declared interests
The research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. No other conflicts are stated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use these baseline scores to exclude a child from movement skill intervention. Benefit was still seen at adaptive behaviour scores of 69.1 or higher and emotional/behavioural challenge scores of 66.1 or lower.