Gesture and Fine Motor Skills in Minimal-low Verbal Autistic Adolescents

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects several aspects of an individual’s cognition, social skills, and even motor ability. One domain commonly impacted by ASD is spoken language, however, the root cause of this speech impairment is still a topic requiring significant research. The current study sought to explore how manual modes of communication are impacted by ASD. This study used a variety of parent-reported measures to assess children and adolescents’ fine motor ability, expressive and receptive language skill, and the extent to which they use communicative gestures. Analysis of these data revealed striking patterns that suggest language impairment associated with ASD is not rooted in manual or oral motor deficits alone.