Fundamental Movement Skills in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the movement skills of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and those without disabilities. Ninety-one children (ASD, n = 28; ADHD, n = 29; control, n = 34), ages 6-10 years, were of average IQ participated. After controlling for age, both ASD and ADHD groups scored significantly lower than controls (p's < .05) on overall gross motor development as well as locomotor and object control subtests, and the ASD group performed more poorly than the ADHD group (p's < .01) on both subtests. Of the children with ASD and ADHD, only 16% had clinical levels of impairment. Potential underlying factors are discussed, with suggestions for future research.

What can autism teach us about the role of sensorimotor systems in higher cognition? New clues from studies on language, action semantics, and abstract emotional concept processing

“…If we first consider ADHD, the multiple comparison problem is true for Dewey et al (2007), who report significantly better motor (and imitation) skills in children with ADHD, but fortunately not for Mostofsky et al (2007) or for Ament et al (2015), who both report significantly better motor performance in ADHD (most notably for balance and catching a ball in the Ament study). Another study reporting better motor skills in ADHD is stymied by lack of IQ matching (Pan, Tsai, & Chu, 2009). Kopp et al's (2010) findings are, as previously mentioned, confounded by comorbid diagnoses and the multiple comparison problem.…”

The role of dynamic systems theory in motor development research: how does theory inform practice and what are the potential implications for autism spectrum disorder?

“…Children with ASD have been shown to have motor development patterns that differ from typically developing peers [29,30], as well as developmentally matched peers [31]. Further, delays in motor ability appear to occur early in development [32,33] and become greater as they age compared to peers [34].…”

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