Determining relationships between severity of autism spectrum disorders and sensorial-cognitive-motor characteristics of children

The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between severity of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and sensorial-cognitive-motor characteristics of children with autism spectrum disorders. 4-6 year-old 30 children with autism spectrum disorders that were taking supportive education in Developmental Support Unit of Research Institute for Individuals with Disabilities of Anadolu University were assessed. Family and Child Information Form, Gilliam Autistic Disorders Rating Scale – 2 – Turkish Version, Sensory Profile Caretaker Questionnaire, Primary Test of Nonverbal Intelligence and Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency – 2 were used to determine children's demographic characteristics and to assess ASD severity, sensory processing level, nonverbal intelligence level and motor proficiency level. The data was analyzed with Pearson r, partial correlation analysis and multivariate covariance analysis via SPSS 21. Results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between ASD severity and nonverbal intelligence-motor proficiency levels while there was no significant correlation between ASD severity and sensory processing level. Besides, results indicated that nonverbal intelligence levels and motor proficiency levels of children in different ASD severity categories significantly differentiated. Finally, the results and limitations were discussed and suggestions were presented for further studies and implementation.