Sensory Integration and Perceptual-Motor Profiles in School-Aged Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Figures & data

Table 1 Z-Tests on the Standard Scores of the Sensorimotor Measures in Children with ASD (n=117)

Measures	Mean	SD	Impairment* n (%)	Z-Test Statistic^a
BOT-2
Fine manual control	29.19	4.16	110 (94.0)	−22.25
Manual coordination	28.33	5.23	112 (95.7)	−30.15
Body coordination	27.16	4.11	98 (83.8)	−40.13
Strength & agility	39.12	5.15	55 (47.0)	−19.07
TVPS-3
Visual discrimination	14.21	3.17	97 (82.9)	+1.13
Visual memory	11.47	3.33	88 (75.2)	−11.33
Visual spatial relationship	16.48	6.05	67 (57.3)	−9.79
Visual form constancy	10.13	3.62	90 (76.9)	−7.77
Visual sequential memory	11.25	2.77	102 (87.2)	−10.00
Visual figure-ground	10.70	3.58	90 (76.9)	−10.01
Visual closure	9.92	4.01	91 (77.0)	−12.87
Total	80.93	9.98	99 (84.6)	−6.65
SP
Sensory Processing	100.6	20.2	99 (84.6)	−17.33
Modulation	89.1	19.2	98 (83.8)	−14.10
Behavioral & Emotional Responses	74.5	23.1	85 (72.6)	−10.92
TSIF^b
Postural movement	73.18	4.15	43 (36.8)	6.3
Bilateral integration sequencing	99.57	5.61	60 (51.3)	14.75
Sensory discrimination	100.12	8.33	103 (88.0)	13.54
Sensory searching	99.33	4.78	99 (84.6)	12.75
Attention and activity	80.44	3.11	76 (65.0)	14.11
Emotional-behavioral reactivity	89.18	6.03	101 (86.3)	13.66

Notes: *Impairment was defined as performance equal to or more than 1.5 SD below normative means on sensorimotor measures. ^ap < 0.0001 for all z-values. ^bLower scores indicate better performance.

Abbreviations: BOT-2, The Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency – Second Edition; TVPS-3, Test of Visual Perceptual Skills – Third Edition; SP, Sensory Profile; TSIF, Test of sensory integration function; SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 Post Hoc Scheffé Multiple Comparison of Sensorimotor Measures Across Age and Sex in Children with ASD (N= 117)

Measures	Multiple Comparisons
	Young-Middle	Middle-Oldest	Young-Oldest
BOT-2
Fine manual control	−3.11	−5.21*	−8.32*
Manual coordination	−5.14	−6.16*	−11.30*
Body coordination	−5.92	−4.42*	−10.34*
Strength & Agility	−7.27	−3.31*	−10.58*
TVPS-3
Visual discrimination	−.79	−3.79	−4.58
Visual memory	−3.03	−2.10	−5.13
Visual spatial relationship	−4.31	−3.11*	−7.42*
Visual form constancy	−2.91	−1.83	−4.74
Visual sequential memory	−.25	−1.75	−2.00
Visual figure-ground	−2.51	−1.28	−3.79
Visual closure	−1.32	−.99	−2.31
Total	−10.95	−6.60	−17.55
Sensory Profile
Sensory Processing	−1.00	−3.10*	−4.10*
Modulation	−4.11	−17.00*	−21.11*
Behavioral & Emotional Responses	−8.85	−2.58	−11.43*
TSIF
Postural movement	6.03*	2.22*	8.25*
Bilateral integration sequencing	4.60	6.14*	10.74*
Sensory discrimination	2.74	3.22	5.96*
Sensory searching	11.28	2.64	13.92*
Attention & activity	7.16	4.18	11.34*
Emotional-behavioral reactivity	4.07	5.18	9.25*

Note: *p< 0.002 (0.05/21).

Abbreviations: BOT-2, The Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency – Second Edition; TVPS-3, Test of Visual Perceptual Skills – Third Edition; TSIF, Test of sensory integration function.

Table 3 Post Hoc Scheffé Multiple Comparison of Activity Participation Measures Across Age and Sex in Children with ASD (N= 117)

Measures	Multiple Comparisons
	Young-Middle	Middle-Oldest	Young-Oldest	Female-Male
VABS-C
Communication	−2.90	−6.21	−9.23	3.30
Daily living skills	−6.51	−14.71*	−21.30*	5.90*
Socialization	−.50	−3.82*	−3.54*	5.40*
Motor skills	−1.40	−3.11*	−4.58*	−3.39
SFA-C
Participation	−5.57	−20.41	−25.99*	7.77*
Physical tasks	−4.67	−12.33	−58.83*	−8.98
Cognitive-behavioral tasks	−10.31	−58.69	−68.70*	16.15*

Note: * p< 0.007 (0.05/7).

Abbreviations: VABSC, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale – Chinese Version; SFA-C, School Function Assessment – Chinese Version.

Table 4 Correlations Between Sensorimotor Measures and Activity Participations in Children with ASD

Measures	VAB-C					SFA-C
	Communication	Daily Living Skills	Socialization	Motor Skills	Total	Participation	Physical Tasks	Cognitive-Behavioral Tasks
BOT-2
Fine manual control	0.21	0.62*	0.42	0.78*	0.77*	0.82*	0.77*	0.49
Manual coordination	0.20	0.59*	0.22	0.79*	0.81*	0.65*	0.62*	0.45
Body coordination	0.22	0.58*	0.43	0.87*	0.69*	0.73*	0.66*	0.28
Strength & Agility	0.08	0.44	0.25	0.55*	0.59*	0.43	0.78*	0.29
Total	0.27	0.58*	0.65*	0.71*	0.63*	0.59*	0.70*	0.40
TVPS-3 Total	0.73*	0.66*	0.48	0.67*	0.65*	0.61*	0.69*	0.71*
TSIF Total	0.47	0.63*	0.67*	0.71*	0.61*	0.78*	0.82*	0.63*
Sensory Profile
Sensory Processing	0.58*	0.57*	0.56*	0.51*	0.53*	0.55*	0.60*	0.62*
Modulation	0.48	0.44	0.51*	0.77*	0.65*	0.65*	0.53*	0.67*
Behavioral & Emotional Responses	0.52*	0.48	0.49	0.45	0.59*	0.70*	0.42	0.58*
Total	0.55*	0.62*	0.77*	0.78*	0.70*	0.75*	0.67*	0.51*

Notes: *Only the significant correlation with large effect size was indicated in this table. r ≥ 0.5 indicates a large effect size. r ≥ 0.3 < 0.5 indicates a medium effect size. r ≥ 0.1 < 0.3 indicates a small effect size.

Abbreviations: BOT-2, The Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency – Second Edition; TVPS-3, Test of Visual Perceptual Skills – Third Edition; SP, Sensory Profile; TSIF, Test of sensory integration function; VABS-C, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale – Chinese Version; SFA-C, School Function Assessment – Chinese Version.