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Measuring dyspraxia in autism using a five-minute praxis exam
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Measuring dyspraxia in autism using a five-minute praxis exam

Ashley de Marchena, Casey J. Zampella, Zachary Dravis, Juhi Pandey, Stewart Mostofsky and Robert T. Schultz
Research in autism spectrum disorders, v 106
24 Jun 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102200
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102200View
Accepted (AM)Open Access (Publisher-Specific),  Open

Abstract

Adaptive behavior skills Autism spectrum disorder Imitation Motor skills Praxis Nonverbal Communication
Background Difficulties with praxis, the ability to perform learned skilled movements, have been robustly demonstrated in autism spectrum disorder (autism). However, praxis assessment is not routinely included in autism characterization batteries, in part because it is traditionally time consuming to administer and score. We test whether dyspraxia in autism can be captured with a brief measure. Method Youth with autism (n = 41) and matched typically developing controls (n = 32), aged 8–16 years, completed a 5-min praxis battery. The 19-item battery included four subtests: gesture to command, tool use, familiar imitation, and meaningless imitation. Video recordings were coded for error types and compared to participant characterization variables. Results Consistent with research using a lengthy battery, autistic youth made more errors overall, with a large effect size. Groups demonstrated similar distributions of error types, suggesting that dyspraxia in autism is not limited to a particular error form. In the autism group, praxis was associated with adaptive functioning, but not autism traits. Conclusions A shortened battery is sufficiently sensitive to praxis differences between autistic and typically developing youth, increasing the feasibility of including praxis within clinical assessments or larger research batteries aimed at testing relationships with downstream skills.

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1 citations in Web of Science
1 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Education, Special
Psychiatry
Psychology, Developmental
Rehabilitation
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