Fundamental Motor Skills Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A 10-Year Narrative Review

Ceccarelli, Silvia; Ferrante, Camilla; Gazzola, Erica; Marzocchi, G; Nobile, Maria; Molteni, Massimo; Crippa, Alessandro

doi:10.3390/children7110250

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Unfortunately, only a subgroup of the considered studies examined the possible effects in the social communication domain after the advances in the motor skills, showing not univocal but promising results. The authors concluded suggesting the inclusion of motor skills training within the intervention programs for ASD children [ 74 ]. Even more recently, Elliott et al, pointed out that a fundamental motor ability intervention might produce improvements in ASD individuals not only at motor level, but even on social, listening, turn-taking, and transition skills [ 75 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Motor Signs in Autism Spectrum Disorder

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2022

Children

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A growing number of literature data suggest the presence of early impairments in the motor development of children with autism spectrum disorder, which could be often recognized even before the appearance of the classical social communication deficits of autism. In this narrative review, we aimed at performing an update about the available data on the early motor function in children with autism spectrum disorder. Early motor impairment in these children can manifest itself both as a mere delay of motor development and as the presence of atypicalities of motor function, such as a higher rate and a larger inventory, of stereotyped movements both with and without objects. In the perspective of a timely diagnosis, the presence of early motor signs can be an important clue, especially in an individual considered at high risk for autism. Motor and communication (both verbal and non-verbal) skills are connected and a pathogenetic role of early motor dysfunctions in the development of autism can be hypothesized. From this, derives the importance of an early enabling intervention aimed at improving motor skills, which could also have favorable effects on other aspects of development.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Motor Signs in Autism Spectrum Disorder

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2022

Children

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“…To our knowledge, the current study is still one of the first parent‐mediated interventions that examines the impact of a FMS intervention on the motor skills of autistic children. It is well known that some autistic children may experience delays with their motor skills (Bremer et al, 2015; Busti Ceccarelli et al, 2020; Colombo‐Dougovito & Block, 2019). While results of this study indicated no statistically significant differences between the intervention groups (pre to post), one main finding from this study was that there was a medium to large effect size post intervention on the FMS of children in the in‐person workshop group and in the online group; while the control group only had a small effect size.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A randomized parent‐mediated physical activity intervention for autistic children

Prieto,

Meera,

Barry

et al. 2023

Autism Research

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The purpose of this study was to examine the immediate and post effects of a parentmediated physical activity intervention on the fundamental motor skills of autistic children. We randomly assigned parent-child dyads (n = 31) of autistic children aged 4-11 years into three groups (workshop, an online, or control group). Each dyad participated in a 12-week intervention and was given adapted physical activity equipment and over 200 activities via a mobile application. Children were tested at the start and end of the intervention. The effect size (Cohen's d) of the control group for pre-post locomotor and ball skill scores were 0.12 and 0.06, respectively, indicating small effect size. The effect size of the online group for pre-post locomotor and ball skill scores were 49 and 0.26, respectively, indicating medium and small effect sizes. The effect size of the in-person group for pre-post locomotor and ball skill scores were 1.18 and 0.82, respectively, indicating large effect sizes. The outcomes of this physical activity intervention suggest that parents may facilitate the acquisition of fundamental motor skills of their autistic children. Although these results are positive, there is a need to further identify effective interventions for fundamental motor skill development in autistic children. Clinical Trials ID: NCT05159102. Lay SummaryAutistic children can benefit a lot from regular physical activity. Some of these benefits include being healthy and meeting new friends. Regular physical activity can also lead to being on sports teams. But most people agree that you need to be good at activities, like throwing, kicking, Parents can help their autistic children learn activities like throwing, kicking, and running, which are also known as fundamental motor skills. In this study, 31 families were randomly assigned to one group. Each family participated in either the workshop, the online, or the control group. Families in the workshop and online groups completed a 12-week physical activity program. Each participant received adapted physical activity equipment. They also received a mobile application with over 200 activities. The workshop group also attended four in-person workshops. The workshops focused on the needs of autistic children and their parents. The online group attended the workshops via Zoom. We tested children on their fundamental motor skills before and after the program. Parents of autistic children are their children's first teachers. Yet, they may not have the skills to teach their children how to do physical activity. So, our purpose was to focus on teaching parents of autistic children. As a result, children in this study improved their fundamental motor skills. This finding can help inform future programs for parents of autistic children.

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“…Colombo-Dougovito and Block (2019) reported that exercise interventions not only can help improve motor proficiency but also can increase the participation in physical activities for children and adolescents with ASD. Ceccarelli, Ferrante, Gazzola, Marzocchi, Nobile, Molteni and Crippa (2020) highlighted that motor skills training programs are of major importance and should be integrated in rehabilitation programs for children with ASD because of the well-documented existence of motor impairments in children with ASD. The positive effects of adapted exercise programs on children with ASD will be effective in increasing their overall quality of life (Akın & Alp, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The present study used three single-subject design cases with three adolescent boys diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Measurements took place in the school setting during the school year 2020-2021(October 2020-March 2021. Study adopted the pre and post intervention design.…”

Section: Design and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy of 6-Month Adapted Aerobic Program on Motor Proficiency, BMI and Cognitive Abilities of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Three Case Reports

Strofylla¹,

Charitou²,

Ασωνίτου³

et al. 2021

JSS

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Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face particular difficulties that impact their opportunities to participate in regular physical activities. According to the recent literature, exercise seems to have numerous benefits for students with ASD such as improvements in fundamental motor skills, balance and in physical fitness generally. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of 6-months adapted aerobic program on motor performance, Body Mass Index (BMI) and cognitive abilities in three adolescent boys with ASD. The study included two phases: baseline and post test. Motor performance of participants with ASD was evaluated with the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-Second Edition and cognitive abilities were assessed with the Cognitive Assessment System. Participants were administered also anthropometric measures (weight, height, waist circumference). Results indicated that participation in the aerobic program can improve participants' motor proficiency, body composition and cognitive abilities. Developing exercise intervention programs to improve motor proficiency, physical fitness and cognitive abilities of children and youth with ASD should be a priority by the community in order to increase their overall health-related physical fitness.

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Fundamental Motor Skills Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A 10-Year Narrative Review

Cited by 19 publications

References 49 publications

Early Motor Signs in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Early Motor Signs in Autism Spectrum Disorder

A randomized parent‐mediated physical activity intervention for autistic children

Efficacy of 6-Month Adapted Aerobic Program on Motor Proficiency, BMI and Cognitive Abilities of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Three Case Reports

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