Megan MacDonald

Motor skills of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders

With increased interest in the early diagnosis and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), more attention has been called to the motor skills of very young children with ASD. This study describes the gross and fine motor skills of a cross-sectional group of 162 children with ASD between the ages of 12 and 36 months, as well as a subset of 58 children followed longitudinally. Gross motor and fine motor age equivalent scores were obtained for all children. A ‘motor difference’ variable was calculated for each child’s gross and fine motor skills by taking the absolute difference of the children’s age equivalent motor score and their respective chronological age. In Study 1 (the cross-sectional analysis), ANCOVA (co-varied for nonverbal problem solving) revealed significant group differences in the gross motor and fine motor age difference variables. Post-hoc analysis revealed that gross motor and fine motor differences became significantly greater with each 6-month period of chronological age. In Study 2, 58 children were measured twice, an average of 12 months apart. Results indicate that the gross motor and fine motor difference scores significantly increased between the first and second measurements. The importance of addressing motor development in early intervention treatments is discussed.

The physical activity patterns of children with autism

BackgroundAlthough motor deficits are gaining attention in autism research much less attention has been paid to the physical activity patterns in this group of children. The participants in this study were a group of children with autism spectrum disorder (N = 72) between the ages of 9-18 years. This cross-sectional study explored the physical activity patterns of seventy-two children with autism spectrum disorder as they aged.FindingsResults indicated significant differences between the mean time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity and the mean time spent in sedentary activity. Older children with autism spectrum disorder are significantly more physically inactive, compared to younger children.ConclusionsPhysical activity programs and interventions need to address this deficit, in physical activity. Children with autism have a similar trend in physical activity patterns compared to their peers without autism; associated benefits and future research will be discussed.

Physical Activity Patterns of Youth with Down Syndrome

The purpose of this study was to examine the physical activity patterns of children with Down syndrome. A cross-sectional approach and accelerometry were used to measure the time children with Down syndrome (N = 104) spent in sedentary, light, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Results indicated that adolescents from ages 14 to 15 years were the most sedentary and spent the least amount of time in light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. A general trend of decreasing physical activity as children increase in age was found. This trend is similar to that found among typically developing youth. Participants in this study were found to spend a majority of their day engaged in sedentary activities. Results indicate that most participants were not accumulating the recommended 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity.

Motor Skills and Calibrated Autism Severity in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

In addition to the core characteristics of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), motor skill deficits are present, persistent, and pervasive across age. Although motor skill deficits have been indicated in young children with autism, they have not been included in the primary discussion of early intervention content. One hundred fifty-nine young children with a confirmed diagnosis of ASD (n = 110), PDD-NOS (n = 26), and non-ASD (n = 23) between the ages of 14-33 months participated in this study.1 The univariate general linear model tested the relationship of fine and gross motor skills and social communicative skills (using calibrated autism severity scores). Fine motor and gross motor skills significantly predicted calibrated autism severity (p < .05). Children with weaker motor skills have greater social communicative skill deficits. Future directions and the role of motor skills in early intervention are discussed.

Physical Activity and Physical Fitness of School-Aged Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social communication deficits and the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors, interests, or activities. Literature comparing the physical activity and fitness of children with ASD to typically developing peers is in need of attention. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the physical activity and fitness of school-aged children with ASD (N = 17) in comparison to typically developing peers (N = 12). Participants with ASD completed diagnostic and developmental assessments and a series of physical fitness assessments: 20-meter multistage shuttle, sit-and-reach test, handgrip strength, and body mass index. Physical activity was measured using accelerometry and preestablished cut-points of physical activity (Freedson et al., 2005). MANCOVA revealed significant between-group effects in strength (P = .03), while ANCOVA revealed significant between-group effects in sedentary (P = .00), light (P = .00), moderate (P = .00), and total moderate-to-vigorous (P = .01) physical activity. Children with ASD are less physically active and fit than typically developing peers. Adapted physical activity programs are one avenue with intervention potential to combat these lower levels of physical activity and fitness found in children with ASD.

Bicycle Training for Youth With Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Children with Down syndrome (DS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) frequently have difficulty riding a two-wheel bicycle. The purpose of this study was to investigate an intervention using an adapted bicycle and individualized instruction to teach 71 youth to ride a standard two-wheel bicycle. Youth with DS (n = 30) and ASD (n = 41) between the ages of nine and 18 years took part in this study. After five days of training, 73.3% of children with DS and 85.4% with ASD successfully demonstrated the ability to ride the bicycle more than 100 feet. Leg strength differentiated riders from nonriders in both groups. For the youth with DS, those who learned to ride were significantly older and heavier than those who did not learn to ride. Participants with ASD who learned to ride were significantly taller and stronger than those with ASD who did not learn to ride a two-wheel bicycle. Implications are discussed.

Using silicone wristbands to evaluate preschool children's exposure to flame retardants

Silicone wristbands can be used as passive sampling tools for measuring personal environmental exposure to organic compounds. Due to the lightweight and simple design, the wristband may be a useful technique for measuring childrens exposure. In this study, we tested the stability of flame retardant compounds in silicone wristbands and developed an analytical approach for measuring 41 flame retardants in the silicone wristband in order to evaluate exposure to these compounds in preschool-aged children. To evaluate the robustness of using wristbands to measure flame retardants, we evaluated the stability of 3 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs), and 2 organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in wristbands over 84 days and did not find any evidence of significant loss over time at either 4 or -20°C (p>0.16). We recruited a cohort of 92 preschool aged children in Oregon to wear the wristband for 7 days in order to characterize childrens acceptance of the technology, and to characterize their exposure to flame retardants. Seventy-seven parents returned the wristbands for analysis of 35 BDEs, 4 OPFRs, and 2 other brominated flame retardants although 5 were excluded from the exposure assessment due to protocol deviations (n=72). A total of 20 compounds were detected above the limit of quantitation, and 11 compounds including 4 OPFRs and 7 BDEs were detected in over 60% of the samples. Childrens gender, age, race, recruitment site, and family context were not significantly associated with returning wristbands or compliance with protocols. Comparisons between flame retardant data and socio-demographic information revealed significant differences in total exposures to both ΣBDEs and ΣOPFRs based on age of house, vacuuming frequency, and family context. These results demonstrate that preschool children in Oregon are exposed to BDEs that are no longer being produced in the United States and to OPFRs that have been used as an alternative to polybrominated compounds. Silicone wristbands were well tolerated by young children and were useful for characterizing personal exposure to flame retardants that were not bound to particulate matter.

Therapeutic Yoga: Symptom Management for Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common autoimmune inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, affecting over 2.3 million people worldwide. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the age of disease onset is typically between 20 and 40 years, with a higher incidence in women. Individuals with MS experience a wide range of symptoms, including declining physical, emotional, and psychological symptoms (e.g., fatigue, imbalance, spasticity, chronic pain, cognitive impairment, bladder and bowel dysfunction, visual and speech impairments, depression, sensory disturbance, and mobility impairment). To date, both the cause of and cure for MS remain unknown. In recent years, more individuals with MS have been pursuing alternative methods of treatment to manage symptoms of the disease, including mind-body therapies such as yoga, meditation, breathing, and relaxation techniques. It has been suggested that the practice of yoga may be a safe and effective way of managing symptoms of MS. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to summarize the most relevant literature on exercise and mind-body modalities to treat MS symptoms and, more specifically, the benefits and potential role of yoga as an alternative treatment of symptom management for individuals with MS. The article also discusses future directions for research.

Assessment of Motor Behavior Among Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Social communicative deficits are the hallmark characteristics of autism, also referred to as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Given the depth of these social communicative deficits, the role of movement skills in development has gone relatively under-explored. However, children with ASD demonstrate impaired performance of fundamental movement skills early in life, which in turn impacts nearly every aspect of subsequent development. These performance differences are persistent and prevalent; ongoing debate exists whether these differences simply reflect delays or if development among children with autism follows a different developmental trajectory than their typically developing peers. These movement skill differences become more obvious with increasing age and children with autism appear to fall further behind—these increasing differences may reflect the limited opportunities of children with autism to practice and improve their movement skills. However, teasing apart these developmental differences becomes a challenge, which necessitates the use of appropriate assessment measures. It is important to understand the impact of motor skills in development and how the role of movement changes over time.

Relations of Preschoolers' Visual-Motor and Object Manipulation Skills With Executive Function and Social Behavior

Purpose: The purpose of this article was to examine specific linkages between early visual-motor integration skills and executive function, as well as between early object manipulation skills and social behaviors in the classroom during the preschool year. Method: Ninety-two children aged 3 to 5 years old (Mage = 4.31 years) were recruited to participate. Comprehensive measures of visual-motor integration skills, object manipulation skills, executive function, and social behaviors were administered in the fall and spring of the preschool year. Results: Our findings indicated that children who had better visual-motor integration skills in the fall had better executive function scores (B = 0.47 [0.20], p < .05, β = .27) in the spring of the preschool year after controlling for age, gender, Head Start status, and site location, but not after controlling for childrens baseline levels of executive function. In addition, children who demonstrated better object manipulation skills in the fall showed significantly stronger social behavior in their classrooms (as rated by teachers) in the spring, including more self-control (B − 0.03 [0.00], p < .05, β = .40), more cooperation (B = 0.02 [0.01], p < .05, β = .28), and less externalizing/hyperactivity (B = − 0.02 [0.01], p < .05, β = − .28) after controlling for social behavior in the fall and other covariates. Conclusion: Childrens visual-motor integration and object manipulation skills in the fall have modest to moderate relations with executive function and social behaviors later in the preschool year. These findings have implications for early learning initiatives and school readiness.