The Effect of Motor Imagery Training on Motor Proficiency of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Clinical Trial Study

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing, and it is necessary to do rehabilitation and skills improving. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of motor imagery training (MIT) on gross and fine motor skills in children with ASD.

In this clinical trial, 30 children with autism aged 8 to 11 years were selected from 3 special clinics in Tehran, Iran in 2019 by purposive sampling and participated in the study voluntarily. After pre-test, the subjects were randomly divided into experimental and control groups (15 subjects in either group). The experimental group received motor imagery training in 5 one-hour sessions for 5 weeks. During this time, the control group was busy with their daily activities and routine educational programs. The standard Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 test was used in both, pre-test and post-test stages. The obtained data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance.

The results showed that the progress from pre to post test was different, and subjects in the experimental group had a significant development after training in all subtests of manual agility (p<0.001), aiming-catching (p<0.001), balance (p<0.001), and overall score (p<0.001), but no change was observed in the control group (p>0.05).

The results suggest that therapists and specialists in this field, who pay attention to improving the level of social skills and interactions in these children, should be careful and have appropriate planning to increase their motor proficiency. For this purpose, motor imagery training is an affordable, low cost, and effective suggestion.