An Examination of Sensorimotor Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Robotic Measurement
Date
2021-04-30
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Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social impairments and restricted and stereotyped behaviours. Sensorimotor deficits in children with ASD have been widely reported clinically but lack reproducible quantified measures. Children with ASD can display a wide range of symptoms and symptom severity and sensorimotor abilities vary greatly within the population. The primary aims of this exploratory study were to precisely quantify sensorimotor function in a group of children with ASD, and to determine how sensorimotor function is associated with aspects of daily life and behaviour in children with ASD. We used the Kinarm exoskeleton robot to measure upper limb function through established task protocols. We examined motor abilities (visually guided reaching task), sensory and proprioceptive function (arm position matching task), and cognitive-motor integration (object hit and avoid task). Kinarm scores in the ASD group (n = 31) were standardized using a typically developing group (n = 150), showing significant differences in reaction time, accuracy, consistency, and inhibition. To examine symptom severity in terms of social and adaptive function, we collected Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS) and Vineland Adaptive behaviour Scales-3 (VABS) caregiver responses from the ASD group. We found that Kinarm scores correlated most often with VABS adaptive behaviour composite score and VABS communication domain score, suggesting that sensorimotor impairments are associated with the daily lives and social communication of children with ASD. Overall, we were able to quantify sensorimotor deficits in children with ASD and link them to daily behaviour.
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Keywords
Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Kinarm Robot, Child Development, Neurodevelopmental Disorder, Sensorimotor Function, Adaptive Behaviour, Social Development
Citation
Moghe, I. (2021). An Examination of Sensorimotor Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Using Robotic Measurement (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.