ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Special Educational Needs
This article is part of the Research TopicCultural and Contextual Challenges in the Inclusion of Children with Developmental DisordersView all 13 articles
Motor Skills Intervention: Effects on Support Needs in the Adaptive Behavior of Autistic Children
Provisionally accepted
- 1Federal University of Paraná Setor de Educação, Curitiba, Brazil
- 2Universidade Federal do Parana, Curitiba, Brazil
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Autism spectrum disorder has undergone changes in its definition and diagnosis, which now include intellectual, motor, and social impairments. Understanding support needs in adaptive behavior is essential for identifying difficulties in daily life and planning effective educational strategies. Although there is growing recognition of the relationship between motor development and adaptive behavior, evidence regarding the effects of motor skill interventions on functional independence remains limited. This study investigated the impact of a personalized intervention program targeting fundamental motor skills on the support needs of three autistic children aged 5 to 8 years. The intervention consisted of ten 45-minute sessions conducted between October and December in a special education school in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to monitor changes over time. Motor skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development – Second Edition (TGMD-2), and support needs were evaluated with the Supports Intensity Scale – Children's Version (SIS-C). A sociodemographic questionnaire was applied to characterize the participants. The results indicated a reduction in the intensity of support required for adaptive behavior, particularly in domains related to domestic routines and academic tasks. Overall, the findings suggest that personalized motor skill intervention programs are promising strategies for promoting greater autonomy and daily functioning in autistic children, while maintaining the intervention dynamics with potential adjustments according to individual needs.
Keywords: Adaptive Behavior, Autism Spectrum Disorder, motor skill, Multiple baseline design, Support Intensity Scale
Received: 15 Sep 2025; Accepted: 22 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Minetto Caldeira Silva, Boueri and Reyes. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mariana Minetto Caldeira Silva
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