Autism affects 1 in every 160 children in the world. It is estimated that there are about 2 million people within the spectrum in Brazil. Its diagnosis is based on the presentation of the disorder, since there is no biological marker, which led to the emergence of numerous international instruments for screening and more assertive diagnosis. In Brazil, the use of these instruments is limited by translation, validation, psychometric quality and by the large geographic dimension that can, for example, generate different motor repertoires among children of the same age group due to the great diversity between the regions of the country. So far, only one study used the Dimensional Inventory of Child Development Assessment (IDADI), created in Brazil, to assess fine motor skills in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but without including the population of the northern region of Brazil.

To compare the fine motor skills of children with ASD and those with typical development using the Dimensional Inventory for Child Development Assessment.

This is a descriptive and observational study with a cross-sectional design developed in Pará. Data collection was carried out by four researchers online or in person, divided into two groups: children with ASD and children with typical development. The instrument uses the parental report of mothers or other family members of daily contact with the child who had a clinical diagnosis (in all degrees) of Autistic Spectrum Disorder determined by a licensed professional (psychologist or physician), and the age group was used between 24 and 72 months. The group of typically developing children were in the same age group and scored less than 15 on the Social Communication Questionnaire, indicating no risk of ASD. For the assessment of fine motor skills, the standardized score of the IDADI fine motor domain was used.

66 children participated in the study, 22 diagnosed with ASD and 44 with Typical Development. A significant difference was observed comparing the fine motor skills of children with ASD (69.5±19.6) with children with TD (98.2 ±19.0), with statistical difference between groups (p<0.0001), with large effect size (d=1.48).

We carried out the analysis of fine motor skills in child development through the Dimensional Inventory of Child Development Assessment, created in Brazil, comparing children with TD and ASD, and our results confirmed that children with ASD have significantly lower scores than typical children when compared fine motor skills between children with ASD and with typical development.

Motor abnormalities are usually the first sign of atypical development in ASD and can be detected before social and language disorders, being able to significantly affect other aspects of child development. In addition, impaired fine motor skills can be predictors of ASD severity, making detection essential to enable effective interventions for this population.