Motor Skills, Sensory Features Differ in Autism With, Without ADHD

Differences in motor skills, sensory and autism features, but not ADHD features, impact daily living skills in children with autism

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, March 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Motor skills and sensory features differ for children with autism with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study published online March 5 in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Emily C. Skaletski, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and colleagues conducted an observational study involving 67 children with autism, 43 of whom had ADHD, to examine differences in motor skills and sensory features among those with and without ADHD.

The researchers found that overall sensory features, seeking, and hyporesponsiveness were driven by both autism and ADHD features, while only autism features drove motor skills, enhanced perception, and hyperresonsiveness. In using these dimensional variables of autism and ADHD features, differences in motor skills, sensory and autism features, but not ADHD features impacted daily living skills (DLS) of children with autism; the strongest individual predictors of DLS were autism features and motor skills.

“These findings affirm the importance of assessing and treating motor skill difficulties and sensory features,” the authors write. “The findings of this study provide valuable information for future research related to sensorimotor features and DLS in autistic children with and without ADHD and for clinical and educational support for DLS across the autism spectrum.”