Motor skills of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders.
Motor delays in toddlers with autism snowball every six months, so screen and treat early.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team followed the toddlers with autism every six months from ½. They gave the same motor test each visit and compared each child’s motor age to their real age.
They wanted to see if the gap stayed the same, closed, or kept growing.
What they found
The motor gap grew every six months. By the final visit most toddlers were 8–10 months behind in both gross and fine motor skills.
The delay widened fastest between 30 and 36 months.
How this fits with other research
Pan (2014) shows the same gap is still huge in adolescence, so the toddler lag is the start of a long track.
Green et al. (2020) found autistic adults still struggle with planning how hard to push or how far to reach. Together the three studies trace one steady line: motor problems start early and stay.
Toth et al. (2007) looks like a contradiction—it also found toddler delays, but in non-autistic little brothers and sisters of autistic kids. The delays look alike, so early motor lag may be a shared family marker, not unique to ASD.
Chetcuti et al. (2019) adds that when the action has more steps, kids with autism do even worse. This fits Meghann’s finding that the gap widens as the body is asked to do more.
Why it matters
If you write an early-intervention plan, add gross- and fine-motor goals now. Don’t wait for the gap to show up at preschool. Use short, repeated practice with clear force cues. Check progress every three months so you can adjust before the next 6-month slip.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
With increased interest in the early diagnosis and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), more attention has been called to the motor skills of very young children with ASD. This study describes the gross and fine motor skills of a cross-sectional group of 162 children with ASD between the ages of 12 and 36 months, as well as a subset of 58 children followed longitudinally. Gross motor and fine motor age equivalent scores were obtained for all children. A 'motor difference' variable was calculated for each child's gross and fine motor skills by taking the absolute difference of the children's age equivalent motor score and their respective chronological age. In Study 1 (the cross-sectional analysis), ANCOVA (co-varied for nonverbal problem solving) revealed significant group differences in the gross motor and fine motor age difference variables. Post-hoc analysis revealed that gross motor and fine motor differences became significantly greater with each 6-month period of chronological age. In Study 2, 58 children were measured twice, an average of 12 months apart. Results indicate that the gross motor and fine motor difference scores significantly increased between the first and second measurements. The importance of addressing motor development in early intervention treatments is discussed.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2013 · doi:10.1177/1362361311402230