研究发现：运动技能较好的自闭症儿童更善于社交和沟通
一项针对自闭症儿童的新研究发现，那些运动技能较好的自闭症儿童更善于社交和沟通。
这项发表于《自闭症研究》网络期刊的论文为自闭症和运动技能缺陷之间的重要关联提供了更多的证据。
主要作者梅根·麦克唐纳（Megan MacDonald）是俄勒冈州立大学公共卫生和人文科学院的助理教授。她是研究自闭症谱系障碍儿童运动技能方面的专家。
研究人员测试了233名年龄介于14至49个月之间被诊断为自闭症的儿童。
“即使在如此早期，我们已经看到运动技能对他们社交和沟通技能的影响，”麦克唐纳说。“运动技能寓于我们所做的一切之中，但长期以来它们一直被独立于自闭症儿童的社交和沟通技能之外去加以研究。”
发展运动技能对孩子们至关重要，并且能够有助于发展出更好的社交技能。麦克唐纳称，在一项研究中， 12岁大的自闭症儿童的运动表现仅与普通6岁的孩子处于同一水平。
麦克唐纳的研究发现，在运动技能上测试得分高儿童，在“日常生活技能”方面也更好，如说话、游戏、散步，和向他们的父母提出要求等。
“我们可以在年幼时教导运动技能并进行干预，”麦克唐纳说。“运动技能和自闭症已经分割得太久。这为我们提供了早期干预的另一种思考的途径。”
麦克唐纳说，一些由专家主导的适应性体育项目既强调运动技能的发展，又强调沟通方面。她说，由于自闭症谱系障碍是一种严重影响社会技能的障碍，运动技能缺陷往往会被搁置一旁。
“我们不明白这种关联是如何作用的，但我们知道它的确存在，”她说。“我们知道，那些能够坐站起行，游戏和追逐的孩子似乎也具有更好的沟通技能。
原文
CORVALLIS, Ore. – In a new study looking at toddlers and preschoolers with autism, researchers found that children with better motor skills were more adept at socializing and communicating.
Published online today in the journal Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, this study adds to the growing evidence of the important link between autism and motor skill deficits.
Lead author Megan MacDonald is an assistant professor in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University. She is an expert on the movement skills of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Researchers tested 233 children ages 14 to 49 months diagnosed with autism.
“Even at this early age, we are already seeing motor skills mapping on to their social and communicative skills,” MacDonald said. “Motor skills are embedded in everything we do, and for too long they have been studied separately from social and communication skills in children with autism.”
Developing motor skills is crucial for children and can also help develop better social skills. MacDonald said in one study, 12-year-olds with autism were performing physically at the same level as a 6-year-old.
“So they do have some motor skills, and they kind of sneak through the system,” she said. “But we have to wonder about the social implications of a 12-year-old who is running like a much younger child. So that quality piece is missing, and the motor skill deficit gets bigger as they age.”
In MacDonald’s study, children who tested higher for motor skills were also better at “daily living skills,” such as talking, playing, walking, and requesting things from their parents.
“We can teach motor skills and intervene at young ages,” MacDonald said. “Motor skills and autism have been separated for too long. This gives us another avenue to consider for early interventions.”
MacDonald said some programs run by experts in adaptive physical education focus on both the motor skill development and communicative side. She said because autism spectrum disorder is a disability that impacts social skills so dramatically, the motor skill deficit tends to be pushed aside.
“We don’t quite understand how this link works, but we know it’s there,” she said. “We know that those children can sit up, walk, play and run seem to also have better communication skills.
This study was coauthored by Catherine Lord of Weill Cornell Medical College and Dale Ulrich of the University of Michigan. It was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Simons Foundation, First Words and Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Michigan.
