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Motor skills in children with strabismus
Coralie Hemptinne1, Florence Aerts2, Thomas Pellissier3
1Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium; Ophthalmology Department, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium.
Insights
Children with strabismus often experience motor difficulties, particularly in balance and catching. Lack of binocular vision significantly impacts their motor skills development.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Motor Neuroscience
Background:
- Strabismus, a common eye condition in children, can affect visual development.
- Motor skill development is crucial for a child's overall growth and well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the association between strabismus and motor difficulties in children.
- To identify specific strabismus parameters linked to impaired motor development.
Main Methods:
- Assessed motor skills in children with strabismus using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (MABC-2).
- Compared motor performance of strabismic children with age-matched healthy controls.
- Analyzed the impact of binocularity on motor skill outcomes.
Main Results:
- Children with strabismus showed significantly lower MABC-2 scores compared to controls.
- Lack of binocularity in strabismic children was linked to poorer performance in static balance and catching tasks.
- 21 out of 40 children with strabismus were identified as at risk for or having significant motor disabilities.
Conclusions:
- Impaired binocularity and stereopsis in children with strabismus correlate with significant motor skill deficits.
- Static balance and catching abilities are particularly affected.
- Further research with larger, diverse cohorts is recommended to understand age-related compensation and long-term effects.
Purpose:
To assess the extent to which strabismus in children was associated with motor difficulties and to examine which parameters of strabismus were most closely associated with motor development.
Methods:
The motor skills of children who were suffering from strabismus, were tested binocularly using the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition (MABC-2) and compared with the motor performance of monocularly tested healthy controls without any ophthalmologic disease.
Results:
A total of 40 children with strabismus (mean, 7.25 ± 3.83 years; 19 females) and 18 controls (mean age, 8.33 ± 5.42 years; 6 females) were tested. According to the MABC-2 test, of the 40, 19 had no motor disability, and 21 were at risk of or already presented significant motor disabilities. Results of the MABC-2 were significantly lower for strabismic children without binocularity compared to those with binocularity (P = 0.002). Lack of binocularity was associated with significantly lower performance for static balance (P = 0.003) as well as for catching tasks (P = 0.042).
Conclusions:
Lack of binocularity and stereopsis in children is associated with significant motor skills impairment, in particular for static balance and catching tasks. These results should be confirmed with a larger sample, including older patients, to assess the compensation mechanisms that develop with age and the actual effects of strabismus on overall motor performance.
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