Delayed Motor Skills and Autism

As pediatric therapists, teachers and parents, we often observe children with delayed motor skills and autism. Motor impairments are often present in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). When children are diagnosed with ASD, they are not usually also diagnosed with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). A recent study in Physical Therapy examined the relationship between ASD and DCD.

Study on Delayed Motor Skills and Autism

The researchers used the results from 16705 parents of children with ASD. They completed the DCD parent questionnaire (DCDQ) to determine the prevalence of a risk for motor impairment or DCD in children with ASD between 5 and 15 years of age. The results were filtered further to include only 11814 survey results after removing invalid data, using stronger cut-offs to confirm ASD traits, and excluding children with general neuromotor impairments/intellectual delays.

A comparison was completed between the DCDQ total and subscale scores from the dataset with published norms for each age between 5 and 15 years.

Results of the Study on Autism and Developmental Coordination Disorder

Data analysis was completed on the study regarding delayed motor skills and autism. The results indicated the following:

• the proportion of children with ASD at risk for a motor impairment was very high at 86.9%.
• children with ASD did not outgrow their motor impairments.
• children with ASD continued to present with a risk for DCD even into adolescence.
• only 31.6% of children were receiving physical therapy services.

Conclusion on Delayed Motor Skills and Autism

The researchers concluded that children with ASD are at risk for motor impairment or DCD was present into adolescence. Only a small percentage of children with ASD were receiving physical therapist interventions. It was recommended that a diagnosis of ASD should be followed by motor screening, evaluations, and appropriate interventions by physical and occupational therapists to address the functional impairments of children with ASD. This is turn will create a positive impact on the children’s social communication, cognition, and behavior. Additional research is needed to determine if motor impairment is a fundamental feature of ASD.

Reference

Bhat, A. N. (2020). Is Motor Impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder Distinct From Developmental Coordination Disorder? A Report From the SPARK Study. Physical Therapy, 100(4), 633-644.

READ MORE ON MOTOR SKILL ASSESSMENTS AND AUTISM.

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