The Intersection of Variability in Gross Motor Performance and Adaptive Behavior in Young Autistic Children: Combining Video Data Analysis and Standardized Assessments.
For young autistic kids, steadier walking speed links to better adaptive skills, but more varied walking actions do too—track both metrics.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers filmed young autistic kids while they walked and played. They also gave parents the Vineland Adaptive Behavior interview.
The team then counted how much each child’s walking speed and style changed from step to step. They asked: do steadier walkers also score higher on daily living skills?
What they found
Kids who kept the same walking speed scored better on daily living skills. But kids who kept the same step length or arm swing scored lower.
So less speed variability helped, yet less style variability hurt. The links went in opposite directions.
How this fits with other research
Oliveira et al. (2023) showed that better locomotion and balance let autistic kids join more home, school, and park activities. The new study adds that tiny speed wobbles, not just skill level, also matter.
Kostrubiec et al. (2018) found that intentional motor coordination and social adaptability improve together with age. The 2025 paper zooms in on moment-to-moment variability instead of overall coordination.
Ferrari et al. (1991) first noted big swings in autistic children’s social-adaptive scores. The new work shows similar swings can be seen in gross-motor data, linking body variability to the classic adaptive profile.
Why it matters
When you watch a child walk, note two things: how steady their speed is, and how much their step style changes. A calm pace plus flexible steps may signal stronger daily skills. Share these quick checks with PTs and parents to build richer goals.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Autism research has shown relationships between motor skills and other developmental domains. However, little research has examined variability in gross motor performance and its potential relation to adaptive behavior in this population. The purpose of this study was to use task-based measures of gross motor performance to quantify variability and to determine if gross motor variability was associated with adaptive behavior. We collected video data of autistic children aged 4-7 years (N = 71) performing two task-based measures of gross motor performance: walking over flat ground and balancing on one leg. We also computed walking behaviors: behaviors exhibited by children during walking (e.g., jumping). We used the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale Adaptive Behavior Composite (VABS-ABC) to measure adaptive behavior. Results showed high intra-subject variability during walking skill, walking behaviors, and balance performance. Less variable walking velocity was correlated with higher adaptive behavior scores. In contrast, less variability in walking behaviors was correlated with lower adaptive behavior scores. These results highlight that variability in gross motor performance may be a feature of ASD and examining gross motor variability in relation to other developmental domains (e.g., adaptive behavior) may provide a more comprehensive understanding of autism.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2025 · doi:10.1542/PEDS.2014-3667C