Hand preference and motor functioning in children with autism

This study examined three theories that have been proposed to explain the h i, gh rates of ambiguous hand preference in young children with autism. Twe nty children wa autism were matched with 20 children with developmental del ays and 20 normally developing children. The groups were compared on measur es of hand preference and motor skills. Results indicated that the lack of development of a hand preference in children with autism was not a direct f unction of their cognitive delay, as the children with developmental delays showed a dissimilar pattern of hand preference. The lack of a definite han d preference in the children with autism was also not due to a lack of moto r skill development, as the children with developmental delays displayed si milar levels of gross and fine motor skills without the accompanying lack o f a definite hand preference. The finding that children with autism with a definite hand preference displayed better performance on motor, language, a nd cognitive tasks than children with autism who did not display a definite hand preference. however, provided support for the bilateral brain dysfunc tion hypothesis.