Moving Together: Social Motor Synchrony in Autistic Peer Partners Depends on Partner and Activity Type.

The sample was small: 25 children, and only four autistic pairs completed both activities, with two completing Connect only and one completing Colours only. The authors caution that confidence intervals cross zero, so the group difference is provisional. Teachers selected familiar, compatible same-neurotype pairs, so the study does not address unfamiliar pairs or autistic and non-autistic pairs interacting together. The groups differed in gender composition: most autistic pairs were boy-boy pairs, while all non-autistic pairs were mixed gender. The study measured only body movement synchrony, not communication, imitation, shared attention, or whether the interaction was meaningful to the children. There was no intervention or treatment outcome, so it cannot show that any activity improves social or communication skills.

Do not read the higher synchrony score as proof that autistic children are more socially connected or that the tablet game improves interaction. The study measured only movement matching in a small group, the authors warned that confidence intervals cross zero, and no treatment outcome was tested.