• Posted July 23, 2026

Organized Sports Help Enhance Motor Skills In Children With Autism

Can organized sports help improve motor skills in kids with autism spectrum disorder?

Although motor delays are not part of the core diagnostic criteria, it's estimated that 50% to 88% of children with autism experience challenges with balance, hand-eye coordination, fine motor control and manual dexterity.

These difficulties can affect everyday activities, limit social participation and interactions with peers and caregivers, and increase anxiety during play.

In a study published July 22 in Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, researchers examined data from 11 clinical trials evaluating organized sports-based interventions for children ages 4 to 13 with a formal autism diagnosis.

The results: Martial arts produced consistently large improvements in balance, overall motor skills and object control, with especially strong effects seen in tai chi programs.

Aquatic training also produced large improvements in balance, motor skills and object control.

Other sports-based interventions showed benefits as well.

Gymnastics and trampoline improved balance and bilateral coordination, while table tennis improved gross motor skills.

Across all of the sports studied, balance was the skill that improved most consistently.

"Organized sports-based interventions may offer benefits beyond recreation for children with autism by supporting motor skill development," said corresponding author Sonia Khurana, an assistant professor of rehabilitation sciences at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Her team said larger, higher-quality studies are needed to confirm these benefits and guide evidence-based recommendations.

More information

Autism Speaks has more on autism and exercise.

SOURCE: HealthDay TV, July 23, 2026