Interceptive abilities in autism spectrum disorder: Comparing naturalistic and virtual visuomotor tasks.

ABSTRACT: A growing body of research reveals that autistic individuals exhibit motor coordination challenges. Multiple theoretical frameworks propose that the seemingly disparate features of autism may arise from a common underlying process: a diminished ability to make predictions. Sensorimotor skills, such as catching a ball, critically rely on predicting the ball's trajectory as well as anticipatory coordination of the entire body. Here, we assessed four different naturalistic and virtual interception tasks with 31 neurotypical and 23 autistic children (ages 7-12). In a naturalistic setting, participants caught the ball either with their hands or a hand-held funnel with an enlarged catch area that also prevented the ball from bouncing off. A virtual setup reduced whole-body demands, as children o

SUBMITTER: Park SW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11638935 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature