SILVA, Dyovana Machado da; PINHEIRO, Igor de Paula; SILVA, Luana Santos; AZEVEDO, Vinicius Diniz
Abstract:
This work presents a narrative literature review exploring the role of psychomotor skills
in the development of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with special
attention to the role of the Physical Education professional. Initially, 38 studies were
identified in the SciELO, PubMed, BVS, and Google Scholar databases using the
descriptors "psychomotor skills," "autism," "children," and "motor development." After
a rigorous selection process that excluded duplicates, opinion articles, theses,
dissertations, and publications establishing a direct relationship between psychomotor
skills and child development, the included studies date from 2011 to 2025. To organize
the findings, the Motor Development Scale (MDS) by Rosa Neto was used, which
structures the analysis into seven psychomotor factors: fine motor skills, gross motor
skills, balance, body schema, spatial organization, temporal organization, and
laterality. The results reveal that psychomotor interventions, generally conducted in a
playful manner and adapted to the sensory needs of children, promote significant
improvements in motor skills, nonverbal communication, social interaction, and
functional autonomy. The need for specialized training for Physical Education
professionals, as well as family involvement and support, to maximize the effects of
the interventions is highlighted. It is concluded that psychomotor skills are a valuable
tool to promote the integral development and social inclusion of children with Autism
Spectrum Disorder.