Plain English Summary
This big-picture analysis pooled 41 studies spanning three decades to ask: do people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have unusual motor coordination — balance, arm movements, walking? The answer was a resounding yes. The gap between autistic and non-autistic individuals was large and consistent across every age group, limb, and ASD subtype. Statistical checks confirmed the finding was rock-solid, not a fluke of selective publishing. Why does this matter? If clumsy movement is a core feature of autism, it flips a major debate. Communication difficulties might stem partly from motor problems rather than lacking social motivation, making movement-based support just as important as social skills training.
Research Notes
Provides the quantitative meta-analytic foundation for viewing motor dysfunction as core to ASD, supporting Donnellan (2013) and Robledo (2012). Key to the autism-communication section: if motor coordination is a cardinal ASD feature, motor-based communication difficulties may be more fundamental than social-motivational accounts suggest.
A random-effects meta-analysis of 41 studies (51 between-group comparisons, 1980-2009) examined whether motor coordination deficits distinguish individuals with ASD from typically developing controls. Searches of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, and Cochrane identified studies measuring motor coordination, arm movements, gait, or postural stability. The overall standardized mean difference was large (SMD = 1.20, p < 0.0001, 95% CI [0.973, 1.42]), with I-squared = 78%. Moderator analyses showed deficits across all ASD subtypes, both upper and lower extremities, and all age groups. Fail-safe N of 6,114 and symmetrical funnel plots indicated minimal publication bias. Motor coordination deficits are pervasive enough to qualify as a cardinal feature of ASD.
Links
Related Papers
Companion
- An Exploration of Sensory and Movement Differences from the Perspective of Individuals with Autism — Robledo, Jodi (2012)
- Rethinking Autism: Implications of Sensory and Movement Differences for Understanding and Support — Donnellan, Anne M (2013)
- The social motivation theory of autism — Chevallier, Coralie (2012)
More in Nonverbal
📋 Cite this paper
Fournier, Kimberly A, Hass, Chris J, Naik, Sagar K, Lodha, Neha, Cauraugh, James H (2010). Motor Coordination in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Synthesis and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-0981-3
@article{fournier_2010_motor_autism,
title = {Motor Coordination in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Synthesis and Meta-Analysis},
author = {Fournier, Kimberly A and Hass, Chris J and Naik, Sagar K and Lodha, Neha and Cauraugh, James H},
year = {2010},
journal = {Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders},
doi = {10.1007/s10803-010-0981-3},
}