Improvement of motor disorders and autistic symptomatology by an approach centered on the body axis: a two-case report
Motor dysfunction is commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, even if it may represent an intrinsic dimension of ASD it is not thought of as a relevant therapeutic target. Here we describe the postural, motor, and autistic characteristics of two children with ASD, a girl ag...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frcha.2025.1451559/full |
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| author | Sylvie Pussino François Darchen |
| author_facet | Sylvie Pussino François Darchen |
| author_sort | Sylvie Pussino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Motor dysfunction is commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, even if it may represent an intrinsic dimension of ASD it is not thought of as a relevant therapeutic target. Here we describe the postural, motor, and autistic characteristics of two children with ASD, a girl aged 3 years and 9 months and a boy aged 4 years and 7 months at enrollment, and their evolution over 20 or 23 months in response to interventions targeting these postural characteristics. Both met DSM-5 diagnosis critera for ASD. In both cases, asymmetric postures, twisting around the longitudinal axis, and underuse of the hands, particularly the thumbs, were observed. The children were repeatedly encouraged to engage in motor experiences involving their spatial cues and body axes and to correct their postures. We assessed more than fifty items describing motor particularities, communication, and social interactions. We observed a progressive and synchronous improvement in most of the items. In particular, communication and interaction skills improved in a similar way to motor skills. CARS scores also improved from 36 at initial assessment to 26 at the end of the follow-up for the boy and from 39.5 to 30 for the girl. These results suggest that motor dysfunction is an intrinsic dimension of autism and that interventions aimed at improving motor organization around a “body axis” could benefit children with ASD. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8e5289bd27de4f80ad8afc97171dbed1 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2813-4540 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-8e5289bd27de4f80ad8afc97171dbed12025-08-20T03:10:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry2813-45402025-04-01410.3389/frcha.2025.14515591451559Improvement of motor disorders and autistic symptomatology by an approach centered on the body axis: a two-case reportSylvie PussinoFrançois DarchenMotor dysfunction is commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, even if it may represent an intrinsic dimension of ASD it is not thought of as a relevant therapeutic target. Here we describe the postural, motor, and autistic characteristics of two children with ASD, a girl aged 3 years and 9 months and a boy aged 4 years and 7 months at enrollment, and their evolution over 20 or 23 months in response to interventions targeting these postural characteristics. Both met DSM-5 diagnosis critera for ASD. In both cases, asymmetric postures, twisting around the longitudinal axis, and underuse of the hands, particularly the thumbs, were observed. The children were repeatedly encouraged to engage in motor experiences involving their spatial cues and body axes and to correct their postures. We assessed more than fifty items describing motor particularities, communication, and social interactions. We observed a progressive and synchronous improvement in most of the items. In particular, communication and interaction skills improved in a similar way to motor skills. CARS scores also improved from 36 at initial assessment to 26 at the end of the follow-up for the boy and from 39.5 to 30 for the girl. These results suggest that motor dysfunction is an intrinsic dimension of autism and that interventions aimed at improving motor organization around a “body axis” could benefit children with ASD.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frcha.2025.1451559/fullautism spectrum disordermotor impairmentbody axispsychomotricitycase reportmotor impairments |
| spellingShingle | Sylvie Pussino François Darchen Improvement of motor disorders and autistic symptomatology by an approach centered on the body axis: a two-case report Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry autism spectrum disorder motor impairment body axis psychomotricity case report motor impairments |
| title | Improvement of motor disorders and autistic symptomatology by an approach centered on the body axis: a two-case report |
| title_full | Improvement of motor disorders and autistic symptomatology by an approach centered on the body axis: a two-case report |
| title_fullStr | Improvement of motor disorders and autistic symptomatology by an approach centered on the body axis: a two-case report |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improvement of motor disorders and autistic symptomatology by an approach centered on the body axis: a two-case report |
| title_short | Improvement of motor disorders and autistic symptomatology by an approach centered on the body axis: a two-case report |
| title_sort | improvement of motor disorders and autistic symptomatology by an approach centered on the body axis a two case report |
| topic | autism spectrum disorder motor impairment body axis psychomotricity case report motor impairments |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frcha.2025.1451559/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sylviepussino improvementofmotordisordersandautisticsymptomatologybyanapproachcenteredonthebodyaxisatwocasereport AT francoisdarchen improvementofmotordisordersandautisticsymptomatologybyanapproachcenteredonthebodyaxisatwocasereport |