The relationship of motor skills and adaptive behavior skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders.

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship of motor skills and the core behaviors of young children with autism, social affective skills and repetitive behaviors, as indicated through the calibrated autism severity scores. DESIGN The univariate GLM tested the relationship of gross and fine motor skills measured by the gross motor scale and the fine motor scale of the MSEL with autism symptomology as measured by calibrated autism severity scores. SETTING Majority of the data collected took place in an autism clinic. PARTICIPANTS A cohort of 159 young children with ASD (n=110), PDD-NOS (n=26) and non-ASD (developmental delay, n=23) between the ages of 12-33 months were recruited from early intervention studies and clinical referrals. Children with non-ASD (developmental delay) were included in this study to provide a range of scores indicted through calibrated autism severity. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome measures in this study were calibrated autism severity scores. RESULTS Fine motor skills and gross motor skills significantly predicted calibrated autism severity (p < 0.01). Children with weaker motor skills displayed higher levels of calibrated autism severity. CONCLUSIONS The fine and gross motor skills are significantly related to autism symptomology. There is more to focus on and new avenues to explore in the realm of discovering how to implement early intervention and rehabilitation for young children with autism and motor skills need to be a part of the discussion.