Motor signs distinguish children with high functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome from controls.
While many studies of motor control in autism have focused on specific motor signs, there has been a lack of research examining the complete range of subtle neuromotor signs. This study compared performance on a neurologic examination standardized for children (PANESS, Physical and Neurological Exam for Subtle Signs, Denckla [1974 Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 16(6), 729-741]) between a group of 40 boys aged 6-17 with autism and average range IQs and a group of 55 typically developing boys. The Autism group was shown to have significant impairment on several measures of motor control compared to the Control group. Regression analyses revealed that a model including four PANESS variables offered a high level of discrimination in distinguishing boys with high-functioning autism from controls.
Jansiewicz
Eva M
EM
Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Goldberg
Melissa C
MC
Newschaffer
Craig J
CJ
Denckla
Martha B
MB
Landa
Rebecca
R
Mostofsky
Stewart H
SH
D000293:Adolescent; D020817:Asperger Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D010808:Physical Examination; D012372:ROC Curve; D012016:Reference Values