Comparing motor performance, praxis, coordination, and interpersonal synchrony between children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Maninderjit Kaur, Sudha M Srinivasan, Anjana N Bhat
PMID 29121516WHAT IT FOUND
Children with autism showed lower gross and fine motor scores, more errors copying movements, slower movements, and poorer synchrony with a partner than typically developing children, in both higher and lower IQ groups among 24 children with autism and 12 typically developing children.
Key findings
01Children with autism scored lower than typically developing children on standardized gross and fine motor measures.
02Children with autism made more errors copying movements and took longer to complete action sequences than typically developing children.
03Motor problems appeared in both higher and lower IQ autism groups, and praxis errors were related to autism severity rather than IQ.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample was small, so the study could not check whether age, gender, or socioeconomic status affected motor scores. The typically developing group was a convenience sample and had no IQ scores. The autism groups differed from the typically developing group in gender and socioeconomic status. IQ was measured with an abbreviated score, so verbal and non-verbal abilities were not separated. All children performed the rhythmic tasks in the same order, so order effects were not controlled. The study used video coding rather than objective kinematic movement measures.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this paper as evidence that movement therapy improves motor or social communication outcomes. It reports assessment differences and correlations, not treatment effects.