Motor organisation of social play in children with autism.

Researchers studied how 878 children (including 372 with autism) played a digital game involving sharing food. They found that autistic children used a different, more complex pattern of movements during the social parts of the game compared to other children, who used simpler, more direct movements. This suggests that differences in how autistic children organize their movements during play might be an early sign that appears before the social and emotional differences we usually notice.

This computational study examined motor patterns during social play in 878 children aged 2.5-6 years, including 372 with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), 64 with other neurodevelopmental disorders, and 441 without known problems. Using a digital game focused on social food-sharing, researchers applied network analysis to characterize play patterns. Children with ASD demonstrated an indirect, two-step motor pattern during social play aspects, contrasting with the direct, single-step pattern used by typically developing children. The findings suggest fundamental differences in goal-directed motor organization during play in autism, which may precede higher-order social cognition and emotional regulation differences.

This research provides new digital variables for ASD characterization and insights into the psychomotor nature of autism.

Results suggest motor pattern analysis during play could provide early, objective markers for autism identification. Understanding these fundamental motor organization differences may inform targeted interventions focusing on motor skills development alongside traditional social and communication approaches.

Study type not specified in abstract. Limited detail on methodology, control variables, or potential confounding factors. Unclear if findings generalize beyond digital game context to real-world play situations.

Play is a quintessential human behaviour, underpinned by motor organisation and fundamental for learning and development. However, the motor patterns underlying play have not been computationally characterised in children with autism, despite known play pattern differences, including reduced social and pretend play. Recent evidence of fundamental neuromotor disruption in autism suggests neuromotor organisation differences may underpin play differences. We employed a digital game to examine play patterns in 878 children aged 2.5-6 years old, including 372 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), 64 diagnosed with other neurodevelopmental disorders and 441 without known neurodevelopmental problems (WP).

Computational characterisation of play patterns by network analysis revealed significant differences between groups in the motor organisation of its sequential steps. Children with ASD developed an indirect, two-step pattern during the social food-sharing aspect of the game, in contrast to a direct, single-step pattern by WP children. These findings provide new variables for the digital characterisation of ASD. They reveal differences in the sequential nature of goal-directed motor organisation made in play in autism that precede higher-order differences in social cognition and emotional regulation reported in the literature, giving important insight into the psychomotor nature of autism for its education, care and support.