Sheila E. Henderson

Clumsiness in Children‐Do they Grow out Of It? A 10‐Year Follow‐Up Study

The question of whether problems of motor co‐ordination in early childhood recede with age has rarely been addressed. This paper reports the findings from a follow‐up study of 17 children, identified by their teachers as having poor motor co‐ordination at age six. Now age 16, these children and their matched controls completed a battery of assessments. The results suggest that the majority of children still have difficulties with motor co‐ordination, have poor self‐concept and are experiencing problems of various kinds in school. However, there are individual differences in the extent to which the children have learned to cope with their continuing difficulties over the years.

The severity and nature of motor impairment in Asperger's syndrome: a comparison with Specific Developmental Disorder of Motor Function

BACKGROUND The aims of this study were to measure objectively the extent and severity of motor impairment in children with Aspergers syndrome and to determine whether the motor difficulties experienced by such children differed in any way from those classified as having a Specific Developmental Disorder of Motor Function (SDD-MF). Criteria derived from ICD 10-R were used to identify 11 children with Aspergers syndrome and a matched group of 9 children with a Specific Developmental Disorder of Motor Function. Children in both groups were required to have a verbal IQ of 80 or greater on the WISC IIIR. METHOD The Autism Diagnostic Interview (Revised; Lord, Rutter, & LeCouteur, 1994) was used to identify features of AS in the first group and to exclude them in the latter. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Henderson & Sugden, 1992) provided a standardised test of motor impairment. A Gesture Test based on that by Cermak, Coster, and Drake (1980) was used to assess the childs ability to mime the use of familiar tools and to imitate meaningless sequences of movements. RESULTS All the children with Aspergers syndrome turned out to meet our criterion for a diagnosis of motor impairment, five of the six most severely motor impaired children in the whole study being from this group. Performance of the Asperger group was also slightly poorer on the Gesture Test. The profile of performance on each test was examined in detail but no evidence of group differences in the pattern of impairment was found. CONCLUSIONS This study is consistent with others suggesting a high prevalence of clumsiness in Aspergers syndrome. Our findings also attest to the widespread prevalence of motor impairment in developmental disorders and the problems such co-morbidity poses for attempts to posit discrete and functionally coherent impairments underlying distinct syndromes.

The assessment of children with Developmental Coordination Disorders in the Netherlands: The relationship between the Movement Assessment Battery for Children and the Körperkoordinations Test für Kinder

Abstract The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC; Henderson, S.E., Sugden, D.A., 1992. Movement Assessment Battery for children: Manual. Psychological Corporation, London.) is used throughout the world in the evaluation of children with movement difficulties. Within Europe, another test commonly used for the same purpose is the Korperkoordinations Test fur Kinder (KTK; Kiphard, B.J., Schilling F., 1974 Korperkoordinations Test fur Kinder. Beltz Test Gmbh, Weinheim.). The aims of this study were: (i) to take a preliminary look at the suitability of the published norms of these two tests for use with Dutch children, (ii) to examine the correlations between scores on the two tests and, (iii) to examine the concordance between the tests in detecting cases of impairment among children believed to be poorly coordinated. Two hundred and eight children completed both tests. The results suggested that the current norms for the Movement ABC are satisfactory for Dutch children but for the KTK, they may require adjustment. The overall correlation between the two tests was 0.62. Although there were children who failed one test and passed the other, the degree of concordance between the tests was statistically significant. PsycINFO classification: 2221; 2330

Minor neurological signs and perceptual-motor difficulties in prematurely born children

AIM To examine the spectrum of neurological dysfunction and perceptual-motor difficulties at school age in a cohort of prematurely born children, and the relation of these measures to neonatal brain lesions, intelligence quotient, and behavioural adjustment. METHOD One hundred and eighty three children were tested at the age of 6 years using Touwen’s Examination of the Child with Minor Neurological Dysfunction, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC), the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI), British Ability Scales, and Rutter Scales. RESULTS Twenty six children had definite cerebral palsy and one was blind. Of the remaining 156, the proportions falling below the 15th centile point were 31% on Touwen’s Examination, 44% on the Movement ABC, and 17% on the VMI. Forty two passed all three tests. No child with a normal ultrasound scan developed cerebral palsy, whereas nearly all those with major lesions did. Minor lesions, however, were not generally predictive of later outcome. Correlations between the tests were generally low. CONCLUSIONS These findings stress the need to assess neurological and perceptual motor functioning separately at school age and to monitor relationships with other aspects of development.

The movement assessment battery for children : A preliminary investigation of its usefulness in Japan

Abstract The aim of this study was to examine the suitability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children ( Henderson and Sugden, 1992 ) for use with Japanese children. One hundred and thirty three Japanese children aged seven to eleven years participated in the study. Their performance was compared to the American children of the same age on whom the 1992 standardisation was based. Analysis of the individual test items revealed a number of significant differences between the samples, some favouring Japanese children others favouring American. Post hoc examination of those test items that best distinguished Japanese from American children showed that the items favouring the Japanese children tended to be in the dynamic balance section of the test and those favouring American in the manual dexterity section. Approximately nineteen percent of children in the Japanese sample obtained total scores lying two or more standard deviations below the American means. It would be premature to ascribe all the obtained differences to cultural factors. Data from a larger and more broadly based sample of Japanese children will be necessary to provide a more appropriate basis for making decisions about the usefulness of the Movement ABC test items and published norms. PsycINFO classification: 2221; 2330

The classification of specific motor coordination disorders in children: some problems to be solved

Abstract The general term “specific developmental disorder” is used to refer to a range of developmental delays which cannot be explained in terms of intellectual retardation, a known medical condition or adverse environmental conditions. Two classification schemes produced by the World Health Organisation and the American Psychiatric Association contain descriptions of various sub-categories of specific developmental disorder, covering the domains of language, scholastic skills and motor coordination. In this paper, we focus exclusively on the classification schemes proposed for the motor domain. Following a consideration of the terminology adopted by the two schemes we proceed to a detailed analysis of the diagnostic criteria proposed. PsycINFO classification: 3250

Interrater Reliability of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children

Background and Purpose: The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) is a widely used, standardized assessment of motor performance in children. The total score obtained on this test often is used to identify children who are either definitely impaired or at risk for motor impairment. The purpose of this study was to determine the interrater reliability of data for the M-ABC when scored by pediatric physical therapists working in routine clinical settings. Subjects and Methods: For 9 children who were referred to clinical settings for an assessment of possible movement difficulties, performance on the appropriate age band of the M-ABC was videotaped. The 9 children, one at each age from 4 through 12 years, represented all ages covered by the test. The videotaped performances were rated according to the test instructions by 131 pediatric physical therapists with a range of experience and by an expert rater who developed the Dutch version of the test. Results: The average agreement between therapists in their classification of the children was very high. The kappa coefficients for the 9 videos ranged from .95 to 1.00. Discussion and Conclusion: Errors made by the therapists could be classified as those that might be common to all tests and those that are specific to the M-ABC.

Visual function of prematurely born children with and without perceptual-motor difficulties

The relationship between visual and perceptual-motor abilities at 6 years of age was investigated in a cohort of 141 prematurely born children without cerebral palsy. Visual acuity was assessed using the Sonksen-Silver Acuity System and stereopsis with the Titmus stereo test. Perceptual motor abilities were evaluated using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children and the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration. The results showed a higher incidence of abnormalities both of linear acuity and stereopsis in the study group when compared to a group of reference children. Whereas abnormalities of linear acuity were not associated with perceptual-motor difficulties, abnormal stereopsis was significantly associated with poor performance on both perceptual-motor tests. Our results suggest that infants born preterm, even in the absence of other major neurological signs, are at risk for abnormal visual function and perceptual-motor difficulties. As these could interfere with everyday life and school performance, a longitudinal assessment of both areas of competencies is recommended so that diagnosis and possible intervention can take place as early as possible.

Structural validity of the Movement ABC-2 test: Factor structure comparisons across three age groups

BACKGROUND The Movement ABC test is one of the most widely used assessments in the field of Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Improvements to the 2nd edition of the test (M-ABC-2) include an extension of the age range and reduction in the number of age bands as well as revision of tasks. The total test score provides a measure of motor performance, which can be used to help make a diagnosis of DCD. M-ABC-2 also provides 3 sub-scales for Manual Dexterity, Aiming and Catching and Balance but the validity of these conceptually derived sub-scales has not previously been reported. AIM To examine the factor structure of the M-ABC-2 test across the three age bands (AB): AB1 (3-6-year olds), AB2 (7-10-year olds) and AB3 (11-16-year olds). METHOD Data from the 2007 standardisation sample (N=1172) were used in this study. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and structural equation modelling (LISREL 8.8) were employed to explore the relationship between the tasks within each of the 3 age bands. A model trimming approach was used to arrive at a well fitting model. RESULTS In AB1 a complex factor structure emerged providing evidence for an independent general factor, as well as specific factors representing the 3 test components. In AB2 a final model emerged with four correlated factors, an additional distinction being drawn between static and dynamic balance. In addition, a 2nd order general factor explained a considerable amount of variance in each primary factor. In AB3 CFA supported the 3-factor structure of the M-ABC-2, with only modest correlations between each factor. CONCLUSIONS The confirmatory factor analyses undertaken in this study further validate the structural validity of the M-ABC-2 as it has developed over time. Although its tasks are largely associated with the three sub-components within each age band, there was also clear evidence for a change in the factor structure towards differentiation in motor abilities with age.

The remediation of clumsiness. I: An evaluation of Laszlo's kinaesthetic approach.

The effectiveness of a kinaesthetic training programme proposed by Laszlo for children with movement difficulties was evaluated by comparing two groups of 10 “clumsy‘ children matched pairwise on age, IQ and sex as well as degree of kinaesthetic and motor impairment. Tests of kinaesthetic ability, using the Parameter Estimation by Sequential Testing (PEST) procedure, and motor competence administered before and after treatment revealed an improvement in both groups on all measures but no differential effect of the training programme. Immediately after training, the changes we obtained in motor performance were confined to balance skills but, at follow up. 3 months later, changes in manual and ball skills were also evident. This unusual pattern of change requires replication. Our findings forced us to consider the possibility that any effect of Laszio s recommended training programme had been obscured by our use of the PEST procedure, which had in itself facilitated motor learning.