Back to Search
Start Over
Action Performance in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder at Preschool Age: A Pilot Study
- Source :
-
International Journal of Developmental Disabilities . 2020 66(4):289-295. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- Objectives: Motor deficits related to imitation have been observed in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) patients. This pilot investigation focused on motor performances, including daily tool-use actions, performing an action in the absence of the tool, and imitating (copying tool-use action presented visually), in eight children with ASD and eight children with typical development (TD), with all of pre-school age (4-6 years). Methods: Motor performances were compared between the children with ASD and TD. Differences between an actual tool-use action and performing a tool-use action without the tool according to verbal instruction were also assessed between the groups. Results: Children with ASD showed impairments in imitating, but their actual tool-use actions and tool-use actions without tools following verbal instruction were not different from those of TD children. The spatial error rate in the tasks was higher in children with ASD. Conclusions: The present study indicates that disturbance in imitating actions appears by the age of 4-6 years in children with ASD, possibly as a characteristic symptom affecting motor performance at pre-school age. Generalized apraxia might follow by the age of 8 years or older.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 2047-3869
- Volume :
- 66
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- ERIC
- Journal :
- International Journal of Developmental Disabilities
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- EJ1265616
- Document Type :
- Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2019.1580472