Motor functioning of persons with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism

Abstract

Objective: It has been asserted that motor incoordination might differentiate Asperger syndrome (AS) from high-functioning autism (HFA) and contribute to the issues of diagnosis and subtyping. The aim of this study was to assess motor functioning in persons with AS and HFA. Method: 11 persons (all males) with AS and 8 with HFA (7 young man and 1 girl) age 3-30 years were diagnosed according to criteria of ICD-10 for AS and autism (IQ 60 cutoff). Intact early language and poor motor behavior were not diagnostic criteria for AS. They were assessed with WB, WISC, McCarthy Scale of Children Abilities (McCSCA) and Test of Motor Abilities Ozeretsky. Results: subjects with AS exibit lower MQ comparing to IQT and inconsistent verbal high-performance low IQ pattern comparing to HFA subjects. The youngest group of children with AS exibited the lowest scores on motor subscale on McCSCA and the lowest scores in the areas of speed and simultaneous movements measured by the Test of Motor Abilities Ozeretsky. Conclusion: Scores of children with AS on motor subscale on McCSCA are the lowest suggesting delays in motor development from the early age. Individuals with AS exibit delays in motor development comparing to IQT. Individuals with HFA do not exibit delays in motor development comparing to IQT and exibit more consistent verbal high - performance low IQ pattern. Diagnostic criteria used in this study resulted in differences in motor skills between these two groups of subjects.

Cilj: procena motornog funkcionisanja i odnos sa kognitivnim profilom kod osoba sa Aspergerovim sindromom (AS) i visoko-funkcionalnim autizmom (HFA). Smatra se da bi nedostatak motorne koordinacije mogao da razlikuje osobe sa AS od osoba sa HFA , da doprinese boljoj dijagnozi i razlikovanju subtipova u okviru autističnog spektra poremećaja. Metod: uzorak čini 11 osoba sa AS (svi su muškog pola) i 8 sa HFA (7 muškaraca, 1 žena) uzrasta od 3-30 godina. Subjekti su dijagnostikovani prema ICD-10 kriterijumima za AS ili autizam (IQ 60) u slučaju osoba sa HFA. Subjekti su procenjeni McCarthy skalom razvoja dečjih sposobnosti, WB i WISC-om testovima inteligencije i Testom motorike Ozeretsky. Rezultati: subjekti sa AS su imali značajnije niži MQ u odnosu na IQT i manje ujednačen profil (viši verbalni - niži manipulativni) od HFA grupe. Kod najmlađe grupe sa AS subjekti su imali najslabije rezultate na motornoj skali McCarthy razvojne skale i najniže skorove u oblasti brzine i simultanih pokreta merenih Testom motorike Ozeretsky. Zaključak: Skorovi dece sa AS na McCarthy subskali motornog razvoja su najniži u odnosu na postignuća sa drugih McCarthy subskala što ukazuje na zaostajanje u postignutim miljokazima motornog razvoja od najranijih dana. Osobe sa HFA ne pokazuju zaostajanje u motornom razvoju u odnosu na postignut IQT i pokazuju konzistentniji IQ profil (viši verbalni - niži manipulativni). Dijagnostički kriterijumi korišćeni u ovoj studiji ukazuju na razlike u motornim veštinama između ove dve grupe subjekata.