In a recently published article by Whyatt and Craig (
2012), the authors set out to establish specific areas that underlie the impaired performance of movement skills among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Given the recent surge of research examining motor behaviour among individuals with ASD, their efforts to determine the components underlying these impairments should be applauded. After reading their paper and thinking more critically about the research questions being asked, I was reminded of a special issue on research methodology and matching that was published in the February 2004 issue of the
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. The intention of this letter to the editor is to re-open a broader discussion among disciplines relating to 2 key areas in autism research—(1) the importance of using comparison groups to inform specific research questions and (2) the selection of appropriate assessments or measures that target specific areas or domains of interest. …
