Lateral dominance in children with learning disabilities.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Special Education

Background:

• Lateral dominance, the preference for using one side of the body (hand, eye, foot), is crucial for development.
• Understanding lateral dominance patterns in children with learning disabilities (LD) is important for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence and nature of lateral dominance issues in children with learning disabilities.
• To compare lateral dominance patterns in children with LD to normative data.

Main Methods:

• Ninety-one children with learning disabilities were assessed using the Harris tests of lateral dominance.
• Hand, eye, and foot dominance (right, left, or mixed) were individually evaluated.
• Results were compared against established normative data for children.

Main Results:

• Children with LD showed no increased frequency of mixed hand dominance but less frequent mixed eye dominance.
• Mixed foot dominance was significantly more frequent in children with LD compared to norms.
• Mixed and crossed eye-hand dominance differed significantly, with higher prevalence in non-LD children.

Conclusions:

• Learning disabilities are associated with specific alterations in lateral dominance, particularly for foot and eye-hand coordination.
• These findings suggest a complex relationship between learning disabilities and sensorimotor integration.
• Age and sex did not influence the observed lateral dominance problems in this sample.