Effectiveness of a fundamental motor skill intervention for 4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study. (November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bremer, Emily; Balogh, Robert; Lloyd, Meghann
• Is Part Of: Autism. Volume 19:Number 8(2015)
• Page Start: 980
• Page End: 991
• Publication Date: 2015-11
• Subjects: autism spectrum disorder -- behavior -- fundamental motor skills -- intervention -- play -- preschool; Autism -- Periodicals; Autism in children -- Periodicals; 616.85882005
• DOI: 10.1177/1362361314557548
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1362-3613

Abstract

A wait-list control experimental design was employed to investigate the effectiveness of a fundamental motor skill intervention at improving the motor skills, adaptive behavior, and social skills of 4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder (experimental n = 5, control n = 4); the impact of intervention intensity was also explored. The experimental group significantly improved their object manipulation and overall motor scores from pre- to post-intervention. The wait-list control design revealed no group-by-time interactions; however, with the groups combined time was a significant factor for all motor variables. There were no significant changes in adaptive behavior and social skills. These preliminary findings suggest that a fundamental motor skill intervention may benefit young children with autism spectrum disorder. Future research with larger samples is warranted.