Low motor skills could predict if an autistic child is at risk of language disability | more lifestyle



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The fine motor skills of children with autism while eating, writing or buttoning their shirt may seem trivial, but can serve as a powerful predictor of whether they are likely to develop persistent language disorders, suggests a new study.

The association between fine motor skills and language development in autistic children was found in a study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

In an American sample of autistic children with delayed speech, the researchers found that almost half had extremely delayed fine motor skills.

Among this group, 77.5% with extremely delayed motor skills continued to have language impairment in their childhood or young age. In contrast, 69.6% of children with less impaired fine motor skills overcame their language delays towards the end of their childhood or early adulthood.

In the second study of Canadian autistic children, researchers found that those with late-late fine motor skills gained less in expressive language.

"Language development is complex. Many interventions for young children with autism focus on language intervention or social skills, "said Vanessa Bal, Principal Investigator, and the Karmazin and Lillard Chairs in Adult Autism at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

The researchers analyzed data from existing studies using different standardized development tests to assess fine motor skills in tasks requiring children to handle small objects, such as picking up cheerios or stacking small blocks.

The first analyzes involved 86 autistic children recruited in an American study before their second birthday until the age of 19. The replication study was conducted using data from a Canadian study involving 181 autistic children aged two to four years. ten.

(This story was published from a news agency thread without text modification.)

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First publication:
September 12, 2019 14:13 IST

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