Exploring and identifying gross motor coordination deficits in children with dyslexia
Date
2006
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This project was designed to explore and identify gross motor coordination deficits in children with dyslexia using two standardized motor assessment tests: Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC) and the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD). The first primary aim of this project was to explore and identify if children with dyslexia differ from typically developing (TD) children in the performance of gross motor skills as measured by the two standardized tests. Motor performance of the two groups was compared on four gross motor subtests: total balance, ball skills, locomotor, and object control. Performance of dyslexic children was found to be significantly poorer than TD children on the total balance subtest. A second primary aim was to explore if deficits in gross motor skills have the ability to discriminate dyslexic children from TD. The results revealed that the four gross motor subtests failed to discriminate between the two groups. Four additional secondary analyses were also conducted. In the first secondary analysis, the total balance subtest was split up and differences between the two groups were examined separately on measures of static and dynamic balance. Another analysis involved examining group differences on the manual dexterity (fine motor) subtest of Movement ABC. Performance of dyslexic children was found to be poorer than TD children on static balance and manual dexterity, with significant differences obtained between the two groups on static balance, while the differences between the groups on manual dexterity approached significance. The results obtained for the motor differences between dyslexic and TD children provide support to an underlying cerebellar dysfunction in children with dyslexia. The third and fourth secondary analyses involved exploring the age and gender based differences in motor performance within the dyslexic group. On the motor subtests that revealed age based differences in motor performance (static balance and manual dexterity that approached significance), the old dyslexic children in the sample did not perform as well as young did, compared to the age norms. Such results suggest a developmental difference in motor performance of old dyslexic children rather than a motor delay. Lastly, the gender based comparisons within the dyslexic sample revealed dyslexic boys to be superior in power/force dependent tasks, while the performance of girls was found to be better than boys on tasks involving limb and body control, and fine motor tasks.