الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Background: Motor impairment is common in children with autism that can be manifested as a gross and fine motor coordination deficit, motor stereotype, gait disorder, postural and balance disorder or dyspraxia. Children with autism are at risk for decreased bone mineral density (BMD). Purposes: To assess gross motor skill performance and bone mineral density (BMD) in children with autism, to determine the difference between children with autism and age-matched typically developing children (TDC) in gross motor performance and BMD and to determine the relationship between gross motor performance and BMD in children with autism. Methods: Thirty children with autism and thirty TDC with age ranged from 7-10 years, assessed by TGMD-2 for evaluating gross motor skills and bydual energy X-ray absorptiometry scan for assessing the BMD of whole body, lumbar spine and neck of femur. Results: There was a significant decrease in BMD and Z score of the whole body, spine and left femur in children with autism compared with that of TDC (p < 0.05). Also, there was a significant decrease in raw and standard scores of locomotor and object control and in sum of standard scores and gross motor quotient of children with autism compared with that of TDC (p < 0.001). A positive correlation was found between gross motor skills and BMD. Conclusion: It could be concluded that children with autism present deficits in gross motor performance including; locomotor and object control abilities. Also, they had lower BMD and Z-scores at the lumbar spine, neck of femur, and whole body than TDC. Gross motor performance was positively associated with BMD measures |