New study reveals distinct motor patterns in how young children with autism play

Published

24 November 2025

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A major international study of nearly 900 children has uncovered a previously unseen motor pattern that differentiates how young children with autism engage in social play.

The findings from a team of researchers at the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Universities of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Scotland and University of Warsaw, Poland, suggest that differences in movement organisation—not just social or cognitive traits—may underlie the unique ways children with autism interact with the world.

A digital game unlocks hidden clues about play

Researchers developed a playful iPad “food-sharing game” in which children aged 2.5 to 6 years dragged food items to four animated characters. The goal was simple: distribute pieces of food evenly among the characters. As children played for five minutes, the tablet recorded swipe paths, allowing scientists to analyse thousands of tiny motor decisions.

The study involved, 372 children diagnosed with autism, 64 with other neurodevelopmental conditions and 441 typically developing children. This large sample size makes it one of the most comprehensive motor-focused investigations of autistic play to date.

Children with autism used a unique “two-step” strategy

The most striking finding was that children with autism tended not to move food directly from the food area to the characters' plates in a single motion.

Instead, as they grew older, they adopted a distinctive indirect “two-step” method:

First placing multiple food pieces on one plate,
Then redistributing them between plates using extra “inter-plate” swipes.

Typically developing children, on the other hand, increasingly used direct, single-step sharing—dragging food straight to each plate—reflecting a more integrated and efficient motor plan.

This two-step pattern emerged even though the game rewarded even, direct sharing, indicating that the difference reflects a deeper pattern of motor organisation rather than preference or misunderstanding.

What the numbers show

Children with autism performed significantly fewer direct sharing swipes than peers without autism
They showed a significant increase in inter-plate swipes with age, a pattern not seen in the other groups
The “sharing strategy difference”—a measure of preference for indirect over direct sharing—increased with age only in the group with autism.

While autism is often described in terms of social or communication differences, this study shifts the focus toward psychomotor organisation—how the brain plans and sequences actions over time.

Researchers argue that:

Play is built from chains of purposeful motor actions
Differences in the sequencing of these actions may precede later-emerging differences in social cognition, imagination, or emotional regulation
These motor-level differences may form a developmental foundation for the social play patterns long observed in autism.

The discovery supports a growing body of work indicating that prospective motor planning—the ability to integrate a final goal into the first action—may develop differently in autism.

Striking sex differences within the autism group

The study also found notable differences between boys and girls with autism:

Boys with autism showed strong developmental increases in food delivery and sharing scores with age.
Girls with autism showed no significant developmental change, yet scored higher overall in both direct and indirect sharing strategies than boys with autism.

This mirrors wider research indicating that girls with often present differently—as well as the persistent concern that many girls with autism may be overlooked or diagnosed later.

The importance of this study

1. A new window into early autism detection

Because the system captures second-by-second motor sequences, this work may support earlier digital identification of autism through natural play—long before formal testing is usually possible.

2. Highlights motor organisation as a core feature of autism

Rather than being secondary to social or cognitive traits, the study suggests motor planning and sequencing differences may be foundational in autism’s developmental profile.

3. Opens doors for new interventions

Motor-based therapies, early play-based supports, and movement-focused approaches could help strengthen social engagement and cooperative play.

4. Demonstrates the power of digital, naturalistic assessment

Instead of structured clinical tests, researchers captured rich behavioural data from an everyday, child-friendly game—offering a scalable method for global research and screening.

The bottom line

This landmark study reveals that children with autism often approach social play through a unique motor pathway—an indirect, multi-step strategy distinct from peers.

Far from being a trivial quirk of gameplay, this pattern hints at fundamental differences in how children with autism plan, organise, and execute goal-directed actions.

By illuminating the psychomotor roots of autistic play, the work offers new avenues for early detection, better support, and deeper understanding of autism from the earliest years of life.

Link to article:

Clark R, Lu SC, Anzulewicz A, Sobota K, Thompson L, Hagberg B, Thorsson M, Tachtatzis C, Andonovic I, McConnachie A, Minnis H, Wilson P, Rowe P, Gillberg C, Macdonald M, Delafield-Butt J. Motor organisation of social play in children with autism. J R Soc Interface. 2025 Nov;22(232):20250302. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2025.0302. Epub 2025 Nov 12. PMID: 41218771; PMCID: PMC12606216.

Text by Anna Spyrou, Communications Officer

Area

Health and medicine