In addition to the behavioural, sensory and social-emotional difficulties, many children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) will also experience difficulties with their motor skills and capabilities. Children with ASD may achieve early gross motor milestones such as sitting, crawling and independent walking within the expected timeframes, but the quality of their movements may be immature or stereotypical when compared with their peers. These early motor skills provide the foundations for the development of later motor skills which require more refined and sophisticated movement control. As a result, children with ASD may struggle to master higher level motor skills such as ball skills, skipping, riding a bike, balancing and hopping. These skills impact the child’s overall participation in peer and community activities, which subsequently will affect their overall development.
Muscle tone is the level of activity present in our muscles at rest. Children with ASD often have low muscle tone, which means that they require to use more strength and energy to move, and also alters the sensory feedback a child receives through their muscles when they move.
This affects the child’s ability to optimally time, sequence and execute a movement. This is often seen as clumsiness, frequent falls, poor balance, or poor coordination.
As a result of their low muscle tone and motor planning difficulties, children with ASD often also have poor core strength. Children with ASD have difficulty recruiting the correct muscles in their core, and lack the strength and endurance to enable them to engage these muscles for functional activities.
Often develops as a result of the low muscle tone and poor core strength, and impacts on a child’s ability to master more sophisticated motor skills, fine motor skills, and can also impact their attention and participation in the classroom or at school.
These develop as a result of the poor motor strategies and posture
These include the child’s automatic reactions to keep themselves upright when they start to lose their balance, and the automatic protective reactions to protect themselves from injuries when they fall.
A physiotherapist experienced in paediatrics will assess the child’s overall motor functioning, identify the underlying difficulties, and provide an intervention program to help address or improve these difficulties and subsequently the child’s overall functioning. Strategies that may be used as part of a physiotherapy intervention plan include
Physiotherapy can be a key ingredient in the treatment of motor difficulties for children with ASD. If you are concerned about your child’s development or their motor skills, or have a child you are working with who you think might benefit from physiotherapy intervention, please contact us at Move and Play Paediatric Therapy so we can assist them to achieve the best possible outcomes.
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