Which statement best describes the Movement Assessment Battery for Children when used with children who have autism?

• A. It assesses both fine and gross motor skills
• B. It assesses only language
• C. It is not useful for autism
• D. It takes no time to administer

Answer: (A)

Movement assessments like this are about motor proficiency across different ways of moving, not language or cognitive content. For children with autism, motor coordination can show up in both small, precise hand movements and larger, whole-body movements. This test is built to capture that range, with subtests that cover fine motor skills (manual dexterity), hand–eye coordination (aiming and catching), and balance (a gross motor domain). Because it spans these areas, it gives a fuller picture of a child’s motor strengths and weaknesses, which is essential for planning targeted therapy and supports. It’s a standardized measure with normative scores, helping clinicians quantify how a child compares to peers. So the best description is that it assesses both fine and gross motor skills. It does not assess language, it is useful for autism, and it does require time to administer.