The Relationship of Motor Skills and Social Communicative Skills in School-Aged Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

TLDR

Motor skill deficits persist in school‑aged children with ASD, yet interventions mainly target core social‑communication impairments. This study examined whether functional motor skills predict success in standardized social‑communicative tasks among high‑functioning ASD children aged 6–15, hypothesizing that better motor skills lead to better social communication. Thirty‑five 6‑ to 15‑year‑old ASD participants were evaluated using a univariate GLM that related motor skills to social‑communicative performance while controlling for age, IQ, ethnicity, gender, and ASD diagnosis. Object‑control motor skills significantly predicted calibrated ASD severity, and children with weaker motor skills exhibited greater social‑communicative deficits.

Abstract

Motor skill deficits are present and persist in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Staples & Reid, 2010). Yet the focus of intervention is on core impairments, which are part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD, deficits in social communication skills. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the functional motor skills, of 6- to 15-year-old children with high-functioning ASD, predict success in standardized social communicative skills. It is hypothesized that children with better motor skills will have better social communicative skills. A total of 35 children with ASD between the ages of 6–15 years participated in this study. The univariate GLM (general linear model) tested the relationship of motor skills on social communicative skills holding constant age, IQ, ethnicity, gender, and clinical ASD diagnosis. Object-control motor skills significantly predicted calibrated ASD severity ( p < .05). Children with weaker motor skills have greater social communicative skill deficits. How this relationship exists behaviorally, needs to be explored further.