A perceptual-motor deficit predicts social and communicative impairments in individuals with autism spectrum disorders

摘要: Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have known impairments in social and motor skills. Identifying putative underlying mechanisms of these could lead to improved understanding the etiology core social/communicative deficits ASDs, identification novel intervention targets. The ability perceptually integrate one's physical capacities environment (affordance perception) may be such a mechanism. This has been theorized impaired but this question never directly tested. Crucially, affordance perception shown amenable learning; thus, if it is implicated valuable unexplored target. present study compared adolescents adults ASDs typically developing (TD) controls. Two groups individuals (adolescents adults) age-matched TD controls completed well-established action capability estimation tasks (reachability, graspability, aperture passability). Their caregivers measure their lifetime deficits. Compared controls, showed unprecedented gross relating information about bodies' capabilities visual specifying environment. magnitude strongly predicted ASDs. Thus, derive, at least part, from basic perceptual-motor processes (e.g. estimation). Such impair maintain calibrate relationship between oneself environments, fruitful, novel, target for intervention.