【論文摘要】Identifying Motor Deficits in Running, Jumping and Hopping and Functional Performance Between Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders

【論文摘要】辨識學齡前自閉症譜系障礙兒童在跑步、雙腳跳躍、單腳跳躍及動作功能表現的缺失

Pei-Chun Huang(黃珮淳) ； Roy Cheung(張子熙) ； Chao-Ying Chen(陳昭縈)

《物理治療》 48卷2期 (2023/06) Pp. 111-112

https://doi.org/10.6215/FJPT.202306.O05

摘要

Background and Purpose: In recent years, motor impairments in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has gained increasing attention because their motor function may have negative impact on the performance in social communication, physical activity, and participation domains. However, there is a lack of study investigating neuromotor control of key motor skills, which may affect overall motor performance and activity level, through biomechanical analysis in children with ASD, especially at a younger age before school life. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to assess kinetic, kinematic, and muscle activation patterns of a series gross motor skills and their association with motor outcomes in preschoolers with ASD. Methods: Fifteen 3-6 years old preschool children with ASD and 15 age-matched children with typical development (TD) are planned to be recruited. Biomechanical data including kinetics and kinematics as well as electromyographic data are collected while subjects are performing running, jumping, and hopping. In addition, the gross motor performance will be assessed using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Second Edition (PDMS2). Results: A five-year-old child with ASD and six children with TD between 3-6 years old were recruited so far. Six-year-old children with TD showed more consistent between-trial kinematic performance in the frontal and sagittal plane during running. The child with ASD showed more comparable performance with 6-year-old children with TD. However, the child with ASD showed slightly poorer performance in the stationary and locomotion subtests of PDMS2, which may be contributed by compromised balance, jumping, and hopping skills, compared with age-matched peers with TD. These observed trends and assumption will be tested with future statistical analyses, as well as analysis on jumping and hopping tasks. Conclusion: The child with ASD showed comparable or even better kinematic performance during running with their age-matched peers but not the overall gross motor performance. Nevertheless, the child of ASD has received massive physical training, and thus may not represent the general performance in preschoolers with ASD. Clinical Relevance: The result will provide information regarding the specific motor skill performance in preschoolers with ASD and its' relationship with their motor competence for guiding future assessment and intervention in this population.