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Spatial cognition and motor development: a study of children with spina bifida
Petra Jansen-Osmann1, Gunnar Wiedenbauer, Martin Heil
1Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. petra.jansen-osmann@uni-duesseldorf.de
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between motor development and spatial cognition. The sample was 20 children with Spina bifida (M age: 11.4 yr., SD = 1.7) and 20 healthy children as controls (M age: 11.8, SD = 1.8 yr.). An experimental assessment of motor development in spatial cognition in a simulated virtual maze by school-age children is lacking. In this study children with Spina bifida, who were impaired in walking since birth, completed four visuospatial tasks in a small-scale space (Mental Rotation, Water-Level Task, Embedded Figures Test, Visual Short-term Memory Test), and a spatial behaviour and knowledge task in a virtual maze. These children showed poorer performance than children in the control group on most measures. The results are discussed with respect to theoretical implications and further research.
