As manifestações motoras no transtorno do espectro autista: uma revisão sistemática

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting one in every 100 children worldwide and has widespread motor impairments, well reported in the literature. The objective of the current study was to carry out a systematic review of the literature regarding the types of motor symptoms described in individuals with ASD. Methods: the study was registered in the International PROSPERO database and reported following the PRISMA guidelines, based on the following research question: “What are the motor behaviors presented by individuals with ASD, compared to neurotypical individuals?”. Searches were carried out in PUBMED, EMBASE, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases, according to pre-defined eligibility criteria. The NIH Quality Assessment Tool was selected to assess the methodological quality of the included studies. Results: 43 studies were included, resulting in a set of data from 1,264 individuals with ASD and 1,173 neurotypical controls. The studies evaluated people aged between 3 and 65 years, and motor differences were found in individuals with ASD in the domains of: general motor skills; coordination; balance; gait; manual dexterity; fine motor skills; gross motor skills; oriented movement; repetitive movements; and time of occurrence. Participants were assessed mainly using standardized instruments such as the BOT-2, SRS-2, VABS and MAB-C. Conclusion: individuals with ASD showed different performance from neurotypical people in almost all motor domains, thus bringing a direct association with the disease. We thus reinforce the importance of paying attention to motor behaviors during the process of diagnosis and treatment of this disorder, providing a better approach and targeting of treatments for this condition.