A Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment of Autistic Individuals on Selected Motor Tasks

Abstract

Previous descriptions of the motor performance of autistic persons have often confounded autism and mental retardation. Therefore, this study compared high functioning autistic individuals to functionally retarded subjects matched closely on chronological age and measured intelligence. Quantitative and qualitative scores for balance, throwing, catching, jumping, and running test items were obtained in a formal testing situation. Also, for autistic subjects, the relationship between qualitative performance on the formal test items and the quality of motor patterns elicited during guided play was determined. It was concluded that the selected test items generally represented reliable indices of the motor performance of autistic persons and that performance during formal testing essentially mirrored that of guided play. While there was some trend toward inferior qualitative scores by autistic individuals compared to their matched counterparts, there were no meaningful quantitative differences between the groups. It is possible that the poor motor performance associated with autism is largely a factor of mental retardation.