Research summaries for autism therapy: movement

definition of movement: Movement is the motion of any body part, such as arms, toes, and head. Movement and motion occurs in developmental stages. For example, a child may sit up at six months of age, and take his first steps at around 12 months of age. Movement can be gross motor, which include walking, crawling, or jumping or fine motor, which include playing video games or a musical instrument.
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Environmental Fit: A Model for Assessing and Treating Problem Behavior Associated with Curricular Difficulties in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Summarized Jan 13, 2010

Children with autism may have fewer behavior problems when they are in an environment where they can successfully complete tasks.

A child with autism who has a good environmental fit is in an environment that is geared toward their abilities. With a good fit, they may have more success with motor (movement) and academic (e.g. reading) tasks. This study asked whether environmental fit was related to problem behaviors for 6 children with autism (4 to 13 years old). The authors said that children with autism who had good environmental fit had fewer problem behaviors. They also completed more tasks correctly, and they felt better overall. The authors said that matching activities with current skill levels may help lower problem behaviors for children with autism.

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Catatonia and Autism: A Historical Review, with Implications for Electroconvulsive Therapy, Summarized Oct 19, 2009

Some people with autism also have catatonia, and electroconvulsive therapy may be helpful in some of those cases.

Catatonia is a brain condition with symptoms where the person repeats words (his own or the words of others), repeats behaviors, and has a grimace look on his face.... Catatonia can be severe for some people, resulting in loss of movement, reduced speech, or stupor. More mild symptoms of catatonia include freezing during actions, slow movement and/or speech.... Read more...

A Back Door Approach to Autism and AAC, Summarized Jun 15, 2009

Therapies for motor (movement) skills, language, and reading development may help children with autism learn to communicate.

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) therapies tend to focus on very basic communication skills. There is growing evidence that additional therapies may help improve the effectiveness of AAC. The author believes that motor , language , and reading are important skills in communication. The author suggests that therapists and parents to add these additional interventions to AAC therapies to help children with autism learn to communicate. Read more...

Exploring Cognitive Intervention for Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Summarized May 7, 2009

A new approach to occupational therapy may be helpful in teaching children with autism to tie their shoes, keyboard, ride a bike, and do other daily tasks.

Motor problems are common in children with autism. This case study looks at a new treatment approach to treating autism, the Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance (CO-OP). The CO-OP approach was first designed to help children with movement (coordination) problems. The authors found that the CO-OP approach helped the two boys in the study learn to do a better job with day-to-day tasks. The authors note that the children's ability to perform the daily tasks varied over the course of the study. Read more...

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Synonyms for movement include: motion, motor skills
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