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Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders pp 1–4Cite as

Gross Motor Skills

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Definition

Gross motor abilities entail the use of large muscle groups that coordinate body movements to perform activities such as maintaining balance, walking, sitting upright, jumping, throwing objects, etc. Gross motor skills are acquired during infancy and early childhood as part of a child’s motor development and continue to be refined throughout most of the individual’s years of development into adulthood. Factors that contribute to the ability and the rate that children develop their gross motor skills include both genetic and environmental influences.

The development of gross motor abilities occurs in the motor cortex, the region of the cerebral cortex that controls voluntary muscle groups.

The development of motor autonomy is the infant’s main task in the first year of life. The process can be described as a series of distinct stages, where mastering each stage prepares the infant’s progression to the next one. At the beginning of each stage, movement is characterized by a...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanyang Technological University, 14 Nanyang Drive, Wako, Saitama, Singapore

    Gianluca Esposito

  2. A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, 3020 Market Street, 19103, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Giacomo Vivanti

  3. University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, Rovereto, TN, Italy

    Gianluca Esposito

Authors
  1. Gianluca Esposito
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  2. Giacomo Vivanti
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Correspondence to Gianluca Esposito .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Esposito, G., Vivanti, G. (2017). Gross Motor Skills. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_179-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_179-3

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