Cognitive processing and motor skill learning in motor-handicapped teenagers: effects of learning method

This study aimed to assess the efficiency of a motor skill learning method intended to promote learning course personalization through an increase in cognitive processing deployment in motor-handicapped persons. Thirty-three secondary school students volunteered to participate in an archery motor skill learning session, 11 motor-handicapped (MH(1)) and 11 able-bodied (AB) teenagers following a standard learning method, and 11 motor-handicapped teenagers following a cognitive enriched learning method (MH(2)) based on the use of an individually written and illustrated document. The results showed that MH(1) displayed lower performances than AB, both in terms of the mental representations of the movements expected and performed and of efficiency of the movement. On the other hand, MH(2) performances were higher than MH(1) for all these parameters, and similar to those of AB at the end of the learning session. Personalization of the learning course allowed optimization of the learning potential in motor-handicapped teenagers to resolve the difficulties inherent to their handicap.