Abstract:
To date, information on associations between motor skills and executive functions (EF) in autistic children is limited. The purpose of this study was to compare motor skills and EF performance between autistic children and typically developing (TD) children and to examine the relationships between motor skills and EF in these two groups. Forty-eight autistic children and 48 TD children aged 6 to 12 years were recruited for this study. Motor skills were measured with the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-2 (BOT-2). EF was assessed with the Stroop Color and Word Test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), and the Test of Attentional Performance: Go/No-go test. Independent sample t-tests were used to compare the BOT-2 scores and EF measures between autistic children and TD children. Pearson product-moment correlation and regressions were conducted to assess the relationships between the BOT-2 scores and the EF measures for each group. Results showed that autistic children scored significantly lower than TD children on all four BOT-2 composite scores and a total motor composite. Autistic children also demonstrated significantly lower levels of performance on all EF measures than TD children. Further, autistic children showed more significant associations between motor skills and EF than TD children, particularly pronounced in the domains of fine manual control and manual coordination to cognitive flexibility, as well as manual coordination and inhibitory control. Continued development of motor skills and EF in autistic children is important. The relationships between motor skills and EF were significant among autistic children, suggesting future research on promoting EF through motor skill interventions in autistic children is required.
摘要:
迄今为止,关于自闭症儿童运动技能和执行功能(EF)之间关联的信息有限.这项研究的目的是比较自闭症儿童和典型发育(TD)儿童之间的运动技能和EF表现,并检查这两组中运动技能与EF之间的关系。这项研究招募了48名自闭症儿童和48名6至12岁的TD儿童。使用Bruinininks-Oseretsky运动能力测试2(BOT-2)测量运动技能。EF通过Stroop颜色和单词测试进行评估,威斯康星州卡片分类任务(WCST),和注意力表现测试:去/不去测试。使用独立样本t检验比较自闭症儿童和TD儿童的BOT-2评分和EF测量值。进行Pearson乘积矩相关和回归以评估每个组的BOT-2评分和EF测量之间的关系。结果显示,自闭症儿童在所有四个BOT-2综合得分和总运动综合得分方面均显着低于TD儿童。自闭症儿童在所有EF测量中的表现水平也明显低于TD儿童。Further,自闭症儿童的运动技能与EF之间的关联比TD儿童更显著,在精细手动控制和手动协调认知灵活性领域尤其明显,以及手动协调和抑制控制。自闭症儿童的运动技能和EF的持续发展很重要。自闭症儿童的运动技能与EF之间的关系显着。建议未来研究通过自闭症儿童的运动技能干预来促进EF。