The goal of this clinical study is to learn whether Neuromotor Task Training (NTT) may help improve functional motor skills in autistic children who have motor difficulties.
The main question it aims to answer is:
Does Neuromotor Task Training help autistic children improve a motor skill that is difficult for them in daily life?
This study will include autistic children with motor difficulties. Each child will work on one functional motor skill chosen according to their needs and daily-life goals. Examples may include skills such as catching a ball, jumping rope, putting on a coat, or another meaningful motor task.
Participants will take part in an initial assessment of their motor abilities. They will then choose, with their family and the researcher, a functional motor skill to work on. The selected skill will be assessed repeatedly before, during, and after the training period. Participants will receive Neuromotor Task Training sessions focused on this skill. They will also be followed after the training period to see whether the motor skill is maintained.
Neuromotor Task Training is a task-oriented rehabilitation approach. It focuses on practicing meaningful motor skills in conditions that are progressively adapted to the child. The task, the environment, and the feedback provided by the therapist may be adjusted during the sessions to support motor learning.
This study uses a single-case experimental design. This means that each participant's progress is measured repeatedly over time. The researchers will examine whether motor performance changes after the start of the training and whether these changes are maintained after the training period.
Children aged 6 to 10 years.
Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
Presence of motor difficulties documented by clinical assessment and/or standardized motor assessment.
Ability to understand and participate in the proposed motor training sessions.
Intelligence quotient below 70, when documented, or severe cognitive impairment preventing understanding of the tasks or participation in the training sessions.
Medical, neurological, orthopedic, or sensory condition that would contraindicate participation in motor training.
Uncontrolled epilepsy or any unstable medical condition that could interfere with participation.
Severe behavioral difficulties making repeated assessment or motor training impossible.
Single group
Neuromotor Task Training
BehavioralNeuromotor Task Training is a task-oriented rehabilitation approach focused on the practice of meaningful functional motor skills. The therapist analyzes the selected task and adapts task constraints, environmental conditions, practice organization, and feedback to support motor learning. In this study, each participant will receive Neuromotor Task Training sessions targeting an individualized motor skill selected before the intervention phase.
Performance on the Individualized Functional Motor Skill
Motor performance will be assessed using one predefined, task-specific, directly observable quantitative indicator for each individualized functional motor skill. Depending on the selected skill, the indicator may be the number or proportion of successful trials, completion time, accuracy, or another objective task-specific measure. The indicator and the direction indicating improvement will be defined before baseline and will remain unchanged throughout baseline, intervention, and follow-up. Each skill and participant will be analyzed separately in the original unit of measurement; data from different task-specific indicators will not be aggregated.
Goal Attainment Scaling Attainment Level
Attainment of the individualized functional motor goal will be assessed using Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS). Goal achievement is rated on a five-point ordinal scale ranging from -2 to +2, where -2 indicates a level much lower than the expected outcome, -1 a level lower than expected, 0 the expected level of attainment, +1 a level higher than expected, and +2 a level much higher than expected. Higher scores indicate greater goal attainment.
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