title: Handedness in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.
abstract: The left hemisphere is usually predominant in manual skills and language, suggesting a link between hand dominance and language. Studies of autism spectrum disorder show atypical handedness; however, few have examined language-handedness associations. Handedness, assessed by task performance, and standardized receptive and expressive language tests were completed in 110 autism spectrum disorder children (96 boys; M age = 8.3 years, SD = 3.8) and 45 typically developing children (37 boys; M age = 8.6 years, SD = 4.3), 3 to 17 years of age. The autism spectrum disorder group had a lower handedness score (was less strongly lateralized) than the control group. In the autism spectrum disorder group, there was a small effect of handedness on language; right-handers had better language than non-right-handers. Results suggest poorer language prognosis may be associated with left- or mixed-handedness in autism spectrum disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Brain and Behavior Program at Children's Hospital, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans, LA, USA tknaus@lsuhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Tracey A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Knaus
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Children's Hospital; Department of Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Jodi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kamps
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Anne L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Foundas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: autism; handedness; language; laterality