Motor Performance in Autistic Youth From Childhood Through Adolescence: Evidence for Both Sustained and Widening Group Differences.

This study tracked motor skills (movement abilities) in 187 autistic children and teens compared to 136 non-autistic peers aged 6-18. While autistic children consistently showed motor differences, the gap changed differently depending on the skill. Grip strength differences got bigger as children aged, but overall motor scores stayed about the same or got closer together. The tests used may not have been challenging enough for older teens, which could hide some differences.

This study examined motor skills in 187 autistic and 136 non-autistic participants aged 6-18 years using both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches. Researchers assessed fine and gross motor skills using the BOT-2 SF and measured grip strength. Results revealed that motor skill differences between autistic and non-autistic youth persisted across the age range, but the pattern varied by motor domain. Grip strength and BOT-2 SF strength subtest scores showed widening differences with age, while overall BOT-2 SF scores showed sustained or narrowing differences through adolescence.

However, substantial ceiling effects in the BOT-2 SF may have obscured some group differences, particularly in older participants, highlighting the need for more comprehensive motor assessments for adolescents.

Motor skill interventions should be tailored by age and specific motor domain. Strength training may be particularly important for older autistic youth. Assessment tools need to be age-appropriate with sufficient challenge for adolescents to accurately measure motor differences and guide intervention planning.

The BOT-2 SF demonstrated substantial ceiling effects that may obscure group differences in older participants. The study does not specify the exact methodology (cross-sectional vs longitudinal components) or provide details about participant characteristics beyond age and diagnostic status.

Although motor-skill differences in autistic individuals are well established, there is diverging evidence regarding what happens to motor skills in autistic children as they become adolescents. Using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data, we examined fine and gross motor skills and grip strength of 187 autistic participants and 136 non-autistic participants (i.e., with no known diagnoses), aged 6-18 years-old. Participants completed the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency-Short Form, Second Edition (BOT-2 SF), and maximal grip strength testing. Linear mixed-effects regression analyses indicated motor-skill differences between autistic and non-autistic participants across this age range; however, the nature of these differences depended on the specific motor domain (i.e., strength) and measure.

Specifically, grip strength and BOT-2 SF strength subtest scores showed widening group differences with increasing age, whereas overall BOT-2 SF scores and subtests showed sustained or narrowing group differences through adolescence. However, items on the BOT-2 SF also demonstrated substantial ceiling effects, which may obscure later group differences between autistic and non-autistic participants and highlight the need for measures that encompass a greater range of motor skills into adolescence. These findings have important implications for healthcare, education, and community supports that address age-related motor differences within the autistic population.