Somayeh Tabatabai; Mehdi Shahbazi; Fazlolah Bagherzadeh
Abstract
The term autistic refers to the individuals who have a set of development disorders relevant to the central nervous system. These children are known to have deficiency in social interaction, language and communication. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between motor development ...
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The term autistic refers to the individuals who have a set of development disorders relevant to the central nervous system. These children are known to have deficiency in social interaction, language and communication. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between motor development and social development of 6-10-year-old autistic children of Mashhad city. The statistical sample involved 41 students with high–functioning autism (31 boys and 10 girls). The researcher calculated the students' social development scores using SCQ questionnaire. Using Lincoln-Oseretsky Motor Development Scale, the level of motor development was determined. In descriptive section, mean and standard deviation were used and in inferential section, Pearson correlation coefficient was applied with 95% confidence level. The results showed a significant relationship between students' motor development and their social development (P<0.05). Also, there was a significant relationship between the boys' gross motor skills, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and their social development (P<0.05). The girls' fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination were significantly related to their social development (P<0.05), but there was no significant relationship between the agility of fingers and social development in both groups (P>0.05). These results of the relationship between motor development and social development showed that motor skills can affect the improvement of autistic students.
