A scoping review of the motor impairments in autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder mainly defined by impairments in communication and socialization. Although motor symptoms are not typically considered central to the disease, their high frequency and early onset have been recurrently reported in the literature. Therefore, this scoping review provides a broad description of these motor impairments across all ages, as well as a discussion of their relevance and relation to other clinical aspects of ASD. The scientific search was carried out in Scopus, Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science databases. Nineteen studies were selected after applying the eligibility criteria. The studies analyzed 784 participants diagnosed with ASD compared to 540 controls. Motor function was assessed by means of varied kinds of scales and questionnaires. The main motor domains evaluated included features of fine and gross motor skills, manual dexterity, coordination/motor control/praxis, balance, running speed/agility, strength, gait, whole-body movements, aiming and catching (ball skills), and repetitive movements. Motor impairments are consistently observed in ASD from the first years of life, persisting into adulthood. It includes a significant deficit in performance of manual, posture, strength, and gait behavior/skills. The deficits described in ASD comprised impairments in fine and gross motor skills, lower balance, lower cadence, and greater variation of gait control, as well as weakness among other features that leads this population to move in an adaptive way affecting their interactions in real life.