Relation between executive functioning, sensory processing, and motor performance in children with autism.

This research looked at how thinking skills, sensory processing, and movement abilities are connected in children with autism. The study found that when children have difficulties with sensory processing and movement, these problems can lead to greater challenges with thinking skills like planning and problem-solving. Motor skills were particularly important - children with better movement abilities tended to have better thinking skills. This suggests that therapy programs that work on both sensory and movement skills together might help improve children's overall thinking and daily functioning abilities.

This study examined relationships between executive functioning, sensory processing, and motor performance in 119 children with autism across three Middle Eastern countries. Using standardized computerized tests and parent ratings, researchers developed structural equation models to test whether sensory and motor difficulties contribute to executive function problems. Results revealed significant pathways from sensory-motor domains to executive functioning, with motor performance being the strongest predictor of executive function difficulties in both laboratory and real-world settings. The findings support a bottom-up developmental model where lower-order sensory-motor processing disturbances contribute to higher-order executive function challenges, suggesting integrated therapeutic approaches targeting sensory and motor abilities may improve executive functioning outcomes.

Results support integrated therapeutic approaches targeting both sensory and motor abilities to improve executive functioning. The strong relationship between motor performance and executive functioning suggests motor skills training should be prioritized in intervention planning. Multifaceted treatment programs addressing sensory-motor foundations may yield better cognitive outcomes than targeting executive functions in isolation.

The study does not report specific sample characteristics or control group comparisons. The cross-sectional design limits understanding of developmental trajectories and causal relationships. Cultural and regional factors from the Middle Eastern sample may affect generalizability to other populations.

The neurological model of autism proposes that higher-order processing disturbances underpin the condition's behavioral features, although emerging evidence attributes these executive functioning issues to lower-order processing disturbances influenced by sensory and motor development. This raises an important question concerning the directionality and development trajectories of neurological disturbances in autism. Hence, this study sought to elucidate the overlapping relations among executive dysfunctions, sensory processing atypicalities, and motor performance disruptions in children with autism. Data were collected from 119 children with autism and their parents/guardians, who were recruited from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The participants' executive functioning, sensory processing, and motor performance were assessed using standardized computerized neuropsychological tests and parent rating scales. Two models were developed to examine whether the downstream effects of sensory processing disturbances and motor performance delays predict/contribute to the cognitive disruptions observed in the children. The structural equation modeling results revealed there to be significant structural pathways leading from the latent sensory-motor domains to the latent executive functions, which held true for both laboratory and real-world functioning, indicating that sensory-motor issues contribute to more severe disturbances in executive functions. Notably, the model including the motor variable (measured using the BOT-2) was the best predictor of altered executive functioning in everyday and laboratory settings.

The findings of this study indicate the potential of multifaceted and clinically integrated training programs that target both sensory and motor abilities in children with autism to improve their executive functioning. An in-depth understanding of the relations among these parameters may suggest new therapeutic approaches for these children.