Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026
Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Motor and tactile-perceptual skill differences between individuals with high-functioning autism and typically
Sana M N Abu-Dahab1, Elizabeth R Skidmore, Margo B Holm
1Occupational Therapy Department, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, s.abudahab@ju.edu.jo.
None:
We examined motor and tactile-perceptual skills in individuals with high-functioning autism (IHFA) and matched typically developing individuals (TDI) ages 5-21 years. Grip strength, motor speed and coordination were impaired in IHFA compared to matched TDI, and the differences between groups varied with age. Although tactile-perceptual skills of IHFA were impaired compared to TDI on several measures, impairments were significant only for stereognosis. Motor and tactile-perceptual skills should be assessed in children with IHFA and intervention should begin early because these skills are essential to school performance. Impairments in coordination and stereognosis suggest a broad though selective under-development of the circuitry for higher order abilities regardless of domain that is important in the search for the underlying disturbances in neurological development.
