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Fundamental Movement Skills in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the movement skills of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and those without disabilities. Ninety-one children (ASD, n = 28; ADHD, n = 29; control, n = 34), ages 6–10 years, were of average IQ participated. After controlling for age, both ASD and ADHD groups scored significantly lower than controls (p’s < .05) on overall gross motor development as well as locomotor and object control subtests, and the ASD group performed more poorly than the ADHD group (p’s < .01) on both subtests. Of the children with ASD and ADHD, only 16% had clinical levels of impairment. Potential underlying factors are discussed, with suggestions for future research.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partially supported by NSC 96-2413-H-017-005 and NSC 97-2410-H-017-027-SSS. The authors would like to express their gratitude to all the children who participated in this study, parents and teachers of children for their supports and research assistants who helped with data collection and other contributions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University, No.116, He-Ping First Road, Kaohsiung, 802, Taiwan

    Chien-Yu Pan & Chia-Hua Chu

  2. Institute of Physical Education, Health and Leisure Studies, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    Chia-Liang Tsai

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  1. Chien-Yu Pan
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  2. Chia-Liang Tsai
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Correspondence to Chien-Yu Pan.

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Pan, CY., Tsai, CL. & Chu, CH. Fundamental Movement Skills in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 1694–1705 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0813-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0813-5

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