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Sensorimotor skills associated with motor dysfunction in children born extremely preterm
Traci-Anne Goyen1, Kei Lui, Jill Hummell
1Centre for Newborn Care, Westmead Hospital, New South Wales, Australia. tagoyen@optushome.com.au
Insights
Children born extremely preterm may have motor dysfunction. This study found they struggle with visual processing and motor planning, even without other deficits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Motor Control
Background:
- Children born prematurely are at risk for motor dysfunction, even without intellectual or sensorineural deficits.
- Extreme preterm birth (<29 weeks or <1000g) presents unique developmental challenges.
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) affects motor skills and can impact children without obvious cognitive impairments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between sensorimotor processing skills and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in apparently normal, extremely preterm children.
- To identify specific sensorimotor deficits in preterm children diagnosed with DCD.
- To understand the relationship between early motor difficulties and later cognitive processing in preterm populations.
Main Methods:
- A matched case-control study involving 50 extremely preterm children (born <29 weeks or <1000g, IQ>85, no sensorineural disability) and 50 term-born controls.
- Assessment at 8 years of age using a battery of sensorimotor tests including visual-motor skills, visual perception, tactile perception, kinaesthesia, and praxis.
- Comparison of sensorimotor performance between preterm children with and without DCD, and with term-born controls.
Main Results:
- Preterm children with DCD (n=21) exhibited significantly lower scores in visual processing and praxis compared to preterm children without DCD and term controls.
- Specific deficits were noted in design copying and constructive/sequencing praxis for preterm children with DCD.
- No significant differences were found in tactile sensitivity or kinaesthetic processing between the groups.
Conclusions:
- Developmental Coordination Disorder in extremely preterm children is associated with impaired visual processing and motor planning (praxis).
- These motor dysfunctions may stem from underlying cognitive processing challenges.
- Early identification and intervention for visual-motor and praxis difficulties are crucial for preterm children.
Background:
Children born prematurely, despite being free of intellectual and sensorineural deficits, are at risk of motor dysfunction.
Aim:
To investigate the association of sensorimotor processing skills and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) in "apparently normal" extreme preterm children.
Study Design:
In a matched case-control study, 50 preterm children born less than 29 weeks or birthweight <1000 g, with an IQ>85 and no identified sensorineural disability, were assessed at 8 years of age along with 50 gender and birth date matched classroom controls born at full term. A battery of sensorimotor tests was administered, which examined visual-motor, visual perception, tactile perception, kinaesthesia, and praxis.
Results:
For preterm children with DCD (n=21), significantly lower scores were found for the visual processing and praxis tests, with the exception of verbal command, in comparison to those 29 preterm children without DCD and term controls (median visual perception scores were 92, 96 and 108 respectively; design copying was 0.07, 0.46 and 0.95; constructive praxis was 0.09, 0.27 and 0.63; and sequencing praxis was 0.14, 0.73 and 0.96). There were no difference on the tactile sensitivity and kinaesthetic processing tests.
Conclusions:
Preterm children with DCD have difficulty with visual processing tasks. Praxis or motor planning poses a particular challenge for them. Motor dysfunction in extremely preterm children was related to poorer visual processing and motor planning and may relate to a cognitive processing problem.
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