Suzanne Houwen

On the relationship between motor performance and executive functioning in children with intellectual disabilities

BACKGROUND It has been suggested that children with intellectual disabilities (ID) have motor problems and higher-order cognitive deficits. The aim of this study was to examine the motor skills and executive functions in school-age children with borderline and mild ID. The second aim was to investigate the relationship between the two performance domains. METHODS Sixty-one children aged between 7 and 12 years diagnosed with borderline ID (33 boys and 28 girls; 71 < IQ < 79) and 36 age peers with mild ID (24 boys and 12 girls; 54 < IQ < 70) were assessed. Their abilities were compared with those of 97 age- and gender-matched typically developing children. Qualitative motor skills, i.e. locomotor ability and object control, were evaluated with the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2). Executive functioning (EF), in terms of planning ability, strategic decision-making and problem solving, was gauged with the Tower of London (TOL) task. RESULTS Compared with the reference group, the full ID cohort scored significantly lower on all assessments. For the locomotor skills, the children with mild ID scored significantly lower than the children with borderline ID, but for the object control skills and the TOL score, no significant differences between the two groups were found. Motor performance and EF correlated positively. At the most complex level, the TOL showed decision time to be a mediator between motor performance and EF: the children with the lower motor scores had significantly shorter decision times and lower EF scores. Analogously, the children with the lower object control scores had longer execution times and lower EF scores. CONCLUSIONS The current results support the notion that besides being impaired in qualitative motor skills intellectually challenged children are also impaired in higher-order executive functions. The deficits in the two domains are interrelated, so early interventions boosting their motor and cognitive development are recommended.

Fine motor skills and effects of methylphenidate in children with attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder and developmental coordination disorder

The aims of this study were to investigate fine motor skills of children with both attention‐deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and those of a control group, and to examine the effects of methylphenidate on these skills. A group of 12 children with ADHD–DCD (11 males, one female; mean age 9y 8mo [SD 1y 7mo]) and 12 age‐ and sex‐matched controls (mean age 9y 7mo [SD 1y 2 mo]) participated. The manual dexterity subtests of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, the concise assessment method for childrens handwriting, and a computerized graphomotor task were used. Results demonstrated that children with ADHD–DCD performed more poorly on the manual dexterity subtests, had poorer quality of handwriting, and drew more rapidly, more fluently, but less accurately than controls on the graphomotor task. On methylphenidate, manual dexterity and quality of handwriting improved, and strokes on the graphomotor task became less fluent but more accurate. ADHD is characterized by persistent symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, affecting 3 to 5% of school‐age children. Up to 50% of children with ADHD also have motor coordination problems that are severe enough to meet criteria for DCD. In DCD, children demonstrate functional motor performance deficits not explained by the childs (chronological) age or intellect, or by other neurological or psychiatric disorders

The relationship between gross motor skills and academic achievement in children with learning disabilities

The present study compared the gross motor skills of 7- to 12-year-old children with learning disabilities (n = 104) with those of age-matched typically developing children (n = 104) using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Additionally, the specific relationships between subsets of gross motor skills and academic performance in reading, spelling, and mathematics were examined in children with learning disabilities. As expected, the children with learning disabilities scored poorer on both the locomotor and object-control subtests than their typically developing peers. Furthermore, in children with learning disabilities a specific relationship was observed between reading and locomotor skills and a trend was found for a relationship between mathematics and object-control skills: the larger childrens learning lag, the poorer their motor skill scores. This study stresses the importance of specific interventions facilitating both motor and academic abilities.

Physical Activity and Motor Skills in Children with and without Visual Impairments

PURPOSE To examine the physical activity levels of children with and without visual impairments (VI). We further investigated 1) whether degree of VI was associated with activity level, 2) whether body composition was associated with activity level, and 3) whether interrelationships existed between activity level and motor skill performance. METHODS Ninety-six children with and without VI, ages 6 to 12 yr, attending mainstream schools participated. Physical activity was assessed by the GT1M accelerometer and motor skill performance by the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Body composition was also determined. RESULTS Total activity [counts per minute (cpm)] was significantly higher in children without VI than in children with VI, 578.1 versus 473.2 cpm. Time spent in sedentary and light behaviors averaged 81.4% and 15.9% in the children with VI and 78.1% and 18.6% in the children without VI, with significant between-group differences. Participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was significantly higher in children without VI versus children with VI. Degree of VI, body mass index (BMI), and percent body fat were correlated with time spent in sedentary and light activity in children with VI. Time spent in sedentary activity was inversely correlated with locomotor and object control scores in children with VI. Light activity was positively associated with locomotor scores; total activity and MVPA were positively associated with object control scores. For children without VI, total activity and time spent in MVPA were positively associated with locomotor scores, and time spent in sedentary activity inversely associated with object control scores. CONCLUSIONS The present results emphasize the importance of promoting an active lifestyle in children. Special attention has to be paid to children with lower visual acuities and children with higher BMI.

Are gross motor skills and sports participation related in children with intellectual disabilities

This study compared the specific gross motor skills of 156 children with intellectual disabilities (ID) (50 ≤ IQ ≥ 79) with that of 255 typically developing children, aged 7-12 years. Additionally, the relationship between the specific gross motor skills and organized sports participation was examined in both groups. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 and a self-report measure were used to assess childrens gross motor skills and sports participation, respectively. The children with ID scored significantly lower on almost all specific motor skill items than the typically developing children. Children with mild ID scored lower on the locomotor skills than children with borderline ID. Furthermore, we found in all groups that children with higher object-control scores participated more in organized sports than children with lower object-control scores. Our results support the importance of attention for well-developed gross motor skills in children with borderline and mild ID, especially to object-control skills, which might contribute positively to their sports participation.

Motor skill performance of school-age children with visual impairments.

The aim of this study was to examine the performance of children with visual impairments (VI) aged 7 to 10 years on different types of motor skills. Furthermore, the association between the degree of the VI and motor performance was examined. The motor performance of 48 children with VI (32 males, 16 females; mean age 8y 10mo [SD 1y 1mo]) was assessed using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Their performance was compared with 48 children without VI (33 males, 15 females; mean age 8y 9mo [SD 1y 1mo]). Children with VI showed the poorest performance compared with peers without VI on unimanual speed, eye‐hand coordination, catching, static balance, and dynamic balance while moving slowly. There was no significant difference between children with moderate and severe VI, except for bimanual coordination in 7‐ to 8‐year‐olds and eye‐hand coordination in both the 7‐ to 8‐year‐olds and 9‐ to 10‐year‐olds, favouring the children with moderate VI. The poor performance compared with children without VI is related to vision, but the degree of the VI does not appear to relate to motor performance, except when associated with bimanual and eye‐hand coordination. For children with VI, it seems very important to adjust the environmental context and task to enhance motor performance.

Gross motor skills and sports participation of children with visual impairments

Gross motor skill performance of children with visual impairments and its association with the degree of visual impairment and sports participation was examined. Twenty children with visual impairments (M age = 9.2 years, SD =1.5) and 100 sighted children (M age = 9.1 years, SD = 1.5) from mainstream schools participated. The results showed that children with visual impairments had significantly lower object control but not locomotor skill scores than the sighted children. No significant differences were found between children with a moderate and severe visual impairment. Children with visual impairments who participated in sports had significantly higher object control skill scores than those who did not. No significant associations between motor skills and sports participation were found in the sighted children.

A systematic review of the effects of motor interventions to improve motor, cognitive, and/or social functioning in people with severe or profound intellectual disabilities

While it is generally agreed that motor activity promotes motor, cognitive, and social development, the specific benefits in people with severe or profound intellectual disabilities (S-PID) are as yet unknown. The aim of this study was to systematically review the evidence related to motor interventions designed to improve motor, cognitive, and/or social outcomes in people with S-PID. A systematic review of empirical studies published between 1982 and 2012 was conducted using four databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC, and CINAHL). Data were extracted regarding the aim of the study, study design, sample characteristics, theoretical framework, intervention, the measurement tools utilized, and outcomes. Of 295 articles reviewed, 46 met our inclusion criteria and covered 45 different studies. Forty articles used single-subject designs and five used a group design. The majority of the articles focused on behavioural techniques with (n=21) or without (n=15) assistive technology. Theoretical frameworks were explicitly reported in nine (20%) of the 45 articles. Thirty-eight articles reported improvement in basic motor skills and eight articles reported improvement in recreational or more specialist motor skills. None of the articles reported negative effects due to motor interventions. Further research is required to determine which motor interventions are the most effective in improving motor outcomes and/or cognitive and social outcomes, and on the longer term effects of these interventions in people with S-PID.

Motor Skill Performance of Children and Adolescents with Visual Impairments: A Review

This article reviews studies on variables that are related to the motor skill performance of children and adolescents with visual impairments (VI). Three major groups of variables are considered (child, environmental, and task). Thirty-nine studies are included in this review, 26 of which examined the effects of child, environmental, and/or task variable(s) on motor skill performance and 13 of which reported suggestions by experts about variables related to performance. Weak evidence was found for three relationships: (a) between the degree of VI and dynamic balance and manual dexterity, (b) between amblyopia/strabismus and fine motor skills, and (c) between movement interventions and motor skill performance. In addition, weak evidence was found to refute a relationship between gender and static balance. Further research with reliable and valid measurement instruments and theoretically funded research emphasizing the interaction between a wide range of variables is needed, with specific attention to environmental and task variables.

Effect of a ball skill intervention on children's ball skills and cognitive functions

PURPOSE This study examined the effect of a 16-wk ball skill intervention on the ball skills, executive functioning (in terms of problem solving and cognitive flexibility), and in how far improved executive functioning leads to improved reading and mathematics performance of children with learning disorders. METHODS Ninety-one children with learning disorders (age 7-11 yr old) were recruited from six classes in a Dutch special-needs primary school. The six classes were assigned randomly either to the intervention or to the control group. The control group received the schools regular physical education lessons. In the intervention group, ball skills were practiced in relative static, simple settings as well as in more dynamic and cognitive demanding settings. Both groups received two 40-min lessons per week. Childrens scores on the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (ball skills), Tower of London (problem solving), Trail Making Test (cognitive flexibility), Dutch Analysis of Individual Word Forms (reading), and the Dutch World in Numbers test (mathematics) at pretest, posttest, and retention test were used to examine intervention effects. RESULTS The results showed that the intervention group significantly improved their ball skills, whereas the control group did not. No intervention effects were found on the cognitive parameters. However, within the intervention group, a positive relationship (r = 0.41, P = 0.007) was found between the change in ball skill performance and the change in problem solving: the larger childrens improvement in ball skills, the larger their improvement in problem solving. CONCLUSIONS The present ball skill intervention is an effective instrument to improve the ball skills of children with learning disorders. Further research is needed to examine the effect of the ball skill intervention on the cognitive parameters in this population.