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Fundamental Movement Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

Delays and deficits may both contribute to atypical development of movement skills by children with ASD. Fundamental movement skills of 25 children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (ages 9–12 years) were compared to three typically developing groups using the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). The group matched on chronological age performed significantly better on the TGMD-2. Another comparison group matched on movement skill demonstrated children with ASD perform similarly to children approximately half their age. Comparisons to a third group matched on mental age equivalence revealed the movement skills of children with ASD are more impaired than would be expected given their cognitive level. Collectively, these results suggest the movement skills of children with ASD reflect deficits in addition to delays.

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Notes

  1. To ensure the children included in each of the comparison groups were typically developing, a variety of measures were taken. Students with any formal record of learning disability or developmental disorder in their school files were excluded. The physical educator and homeroom teacher of each student also confirmed typical development.

  2. ASD was primary diagnosis for all children included in the ASD group; no child had record of seizure disorder.

  3. A power analysis with effect size of .10 and a power of .06 supported sufficient sample size to demonstrate no difference between these groups on the locomotor skills.

  4. A power analysis with effect size of .01 and a power of .05 again supported sufficient sample size to demonstrate no performance difference between these groups on object control skills.

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Acknowledgments

Kerri Staples is now at the University of Regina. This research was part of a doctoral dissertation supported by an Autism Research Training program (CIHR, Autism Speaks, and FRSQ), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and research grants from McGill University and Special Olympics awarded to the first author. Thank-you to Matt Steven, Alissa Apa, Myléne Boudreau, and Emma Steven for their invaluable assistance throughout data collection and analysis. A huge thank-you goes to the schools, teachers, and children who made this research possible. A version of this manuscript was presented at the North American Federation of Adapted Physical Activity.

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Correspondence to Kerri L. Staples.

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Staples, K.L., Reid, G. Fundamental Movement Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 40, 209–217 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0854-9

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