The Impact of Manipulation Training on Handedness in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders are cognitive and neurobehavioral disorders where have three main features: socialization disorders, impairment of verbal and nonverbal communications, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of manipulation training on handedness in children with autism spectrum disorders.
The present study was an experimental investigation using a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population of the research included all 7 to 14 -year-old students with autism spectrum disorders in Shiraz in the academic year 2014-2015. After selection of the school by the exceptive education office, the pretest was administered to all students in this school who were 7 to 14 years old. A total of 20 students (5 girls and 15 boys) who met the research criterion were then chosen as participants and were randomly divided into either the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group received manipulation training over 24 sessions, while the control group only performed common activities in the school. At the end of the treatment, post-test was administered to both groups. To assess handedness, the Edinburgh handedness inventory scale was used.
Covariance analysis indicated that there was a significant increase in the mean scores for handedness in the experimental group (p ≤ 0.05).
Our findings indicated that manipulation training improved handedness in children with autism spectrum disorders. Therefore, it is suggested that the design and implementation of appropriate manipulation trainings be used in improving handedness in students with autism spectrum disorder.