Relation between executive functioning, sensory processing, and motor performance in children with autism.

Abstract

Purpose: The neurological model of autism proposes that higher-order processing disturbances underpin the condition's behavioral features, although emerging evidence attributes these executive functioning issues to lower-order processing disturbances influenced by sensory and motor development. This raises an important question concerning the directionality and development trajectories of neurological disturbances in autism. Hence, this study sought to elucidate the overlapping relations among executive dysfunctions, sensory processing atypicalities, and motor performance disruptions in children with autism.

Methods: Data were collected from 119 children with autism and their parents/guardians, who were recruited from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The participants' executive functioning, sensory processing, and motor performance were assessed using standardized computerized neuropsychological tests and parent rating scales. Two models were developed to examine whether the downstream effects of sensory processing disturbances and motor performance delays predict/contribute to the cognitive disruptions observed in the children.

Results: The structural equation modeling results revealed there to be significant structural pathways leading from the latent sensory-motor domains to the latent executive functions, which held true for both laboratory and real-world functioning, indicating that sensory-motor issues contribute to more severe disturbances in executive functions. Notably, the model including the motor variable (measured using the BOT-2) was the best predictor of altered executive functioning in everyday and laboratory settings.

Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate the potential of multifaceted and clinically integrated training programs that target both sensory and motor abilities in children with autism to improve their executive functioning. An in-depth understanding of the relations among these parameters may suggest new therapeutic approaches for these children.