Fundamental Motor Skill Interventions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of the Literature Including a Methodological Quality Assessment.

• Delays in fundamental motor skills (FMS) are prevalent in children with ASD. • This review described fundamental motor skill interventions in children with ASD. • Included studies were experimental (3), quasi-experimental (8), pre-experimental (5), single-subject (3), and case study design (3). • Large variation exists among the samples, interventions, and research designs. • Issues relate to FMS measurement and a reliance on pre- and quasi-experimental designs. The presence of FMS delays in children with ASD is well established. To inform the development of evidence-based FMS interventions and provide directions for future research, this systematic review described the characteristics and evaluated the methodological quality of peer-reviewed FMS intervention studies involving children with ASD (aged 0-21 years). Following the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of peer-reviewed literature was conducted across seven databases. From an initial screening of 852 records, 22 studies were included for full-text review. Data were extracted from each study relating to study characteristics, intervention characteristics, and sample characteristics. Methodological quality was evaluated by two independent reviewers using quality indicators relevant to the type of study design. Twenty-two articles were included. The reviewed studies used experimental, quasi-experimental, pre-experimental, single-subject, and case study designs. Of the 22 studies, 19 reported significant intervention effects for at least one FMS. The large variation among the samples, FMS interventions, and research designs limited conclusions about the causal processes for achieving FMS improvements in children with ASD from the reviewed literature. Other limiting factors were related to the measurement of FMS (e.g. a lack of descriptions of testing protocols), a lack of validation of the participant ASD diagnosis, a reliance on pre- and quasi-experimental research designs, and a lack of theoretical underpinning of the FMS interventions. Moreover, when instructional strategies were specified, the fidelity of implementation was rarely evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]