Studie: Relations between motor impairment and social communication in ASD

Relations between motor impairment and social communication, cognitive, language, functional impairments, and repetitive behavior in children with ASD

Title: A further study of relations between motor impairment and social communication, cognitive, language, functional impairments, and repetitive behavior severity in children with ASD using the SPARK study dataset
Authors: A. N. Bhat, A. Boulton, and D. Tulsky
Country of origin: United States
Year: 2022
Number of participants: Not specified (SPARK study dataset)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9167778/

Motor impairments are pervasive and persistent in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) throughout childhood and adolescence, and are related to their core (social communication skills and repetitive behaviors) and comorbid (language, cognitive, and functional) impairments.
Persistent primary reflexes are common in children with ASD and can affect their gross-motor and fine-motor skills, which are linked to specific autistic problems and traits and affected areas of the brain.

The study utilized the SPARK study dataset, a large population-based study engaging a large group of parents of school-age children and adolescents with ASD within the US.
The study found that gross-motor skills were related to social communication and functional delays of children with ASD, while visuomotor skills were related to language delays and multi-limb coordination/planning skills were related to cognitive delays.
The study also found that fine-motor skills were related to repetitive behavior severity, language, cognitive, and functional delays in ASD.

The study provides further evidence for the inclusion of motor impairments within the ASD definition (criteria or specifiers).
The findings highlight the importance of systematic motor screening and enhanced awareness of motor needs in children with ASD, particularly in relation to persistent primary reflexes.

Diagnosticians should recommend systematic motor screening, further evaluations, and treatments for children at-risk for and diagnosed with ASD, with a particular focus on persistent primary reflexes.
Motor advocacy and enhanced public/clinical community awareness is needed to fulfill the unmet motor needs of children with ASD.

The study examined the SPARK study dataset, version 3, to analyze the DCD-Q motor measure and its subscales and items.
The standard domain/subscale scores of DCD-Q (control during movement/gross-motor, fine-motor, and general coordination) were compared across multiple subgroups of children with ASD, and effect sizes were calculated for differences between subgroups based on SCQ, RBS-R, and parent-reported current abilities (cognitive, language, and functional delay) data.

The study found that DCD-Q total scores and subscale scores were lower in children with ASD with higher SCQ and RBS-R scores, as well as greater language, cognitive, and functional impairments.
Gross-motor performance was related to social communication and functional delays of children with ASD, while visuomotor skills were related to language delays and multi-limb coordination/planning skills were related to cognitive delays.
Fine-motor skills were related to repetitive behavior severity, language, cognitive, and functional delays in ASD.

The study's findings provide further evidence for the inclusion of motor impairments within the ASD definition, and highlight the importance of systematic motor screening and enhanced awareness of motor needs in children with ASD, particularly in relation to persistent primary reflexes.
The study's findings suggest that specific motor domains are linked to specific autistic problems and traits, and affected areas of the brain, which can inform targeted interventions for children with ASD.

The specific limitations of the study were not specified in the available information.