The Practical Aspects of Gross Motor Function in Autism
If you’ve worked with the Autism/Neurodivergent population for more than a week, you’re likely familiar with the term “motor control.” It’s one of those technical terms that gets used often, though the implications (what-to-do-about) may remain unclear at times.
When we’re implementing fitness or any gross motor skill program, motor control is evident, or absent, when our athlete performs a particular movement. Appropriate control requires strength, stability, and the appropriate neuromuscular sequencing.
With our ASD/ND athletes, we often observe indicators of deficits including fast/jerky motion, compensatory movement (using too much action to complete the physical demand), and limited range of motion.
Over time, these incidences can lead to inhibited/diminished movement skills and potentially overuse and injury. A proactive approach to improving motor control for children, teens, and adults with ASD can have profound effects on self-efficacy. Improving strength, stability, and movement patterns can have proactive and preventative benefits.
While gross motor skills emerge and develop in the early stages of childhood, teens and younger adults with autism can benefit immensely from individualized strength and fitness programs. Strength training in particular can support improvements in muscular control when performing daily tasks. Additionally, strengthening larger, proximal muscle groups can benefit more precise, fine motor tasks.
Diminished gross motor skills in the autism population can have implications for fine motor skills as well. Distal strength (along the midline of the body and composing the major muscle groups), can enhance or impair fine motor skills. The stability and control needed to perform more finite movements originates from larger muscle groups contracting and holding the necessary position. As these larger muscles fatigue, fine motor skills will be adversely affected.
Fitness, particularly progressive resistance, or strength training, should be considered a life skill for the autism and neuroadaptive population. Understanding appropriate exercise selection, program development, and essential biomechanics is a pre-requisite for implementing these sessions.
Eric Chessen, MS, is the Founder of Autism Fitness and Director of Neuroadaptive Programming and Innovation for Inclusive Fitness.