A research framework to isolate visuospatial from childhood motor coordination phenotypes

Estimating the prevalence of Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD) from the ABCD sample

Non-Verbal Learning Disability (NVLD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in processing visuospatial information but with age-appropriate verbal skills. This cognitive profile has been hypothesized to be associated with atypical white matter, but at the present there is a lack of evidence for this hypothesis. Currently, the condition is not characterized within the main diagnostic systems, in part because no clear set of criteria for characterizing the disorder exists. This report is the first attempt to estimate NVLD prevalence, using two sets of diagnostic criteria, in a large sample of over 11,000 children who were selected without regards to problems of specific nature, either psychological, neurological, physical and/or social. Furthermore, it examined the association between the profile of cognitive abilities and aspects of whole-brain white matter measures in children with and without symptoms associated with NVLD. Participants were drawn from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, a 10-year longitudinal study of 11,876 children in the U.S. The data used in the present study were drawn from the initial testing point at which the children were 9-10 years old. Prevalence of NVLD based on two distinct sets of criteria, correlations between the measures used to create the criteria, correlations between criteria measures and measures of white matter integrity. The cognitive criteria included measures of visuospatial processing, reading, intelligence and social skills. By varying the cut-offs applied to social skills in conjunction with visuo-spatial difficulties, spared reading skills and intelligence scores, we calculated prevalence for two NVLD groups. White matter characteristics were measures of volume, fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity. Based on the criteria used, the estimated prevalence of NVLD varied from 1 to 8%. Furthermore, children with NVLD showed a dissociation between measures of visuo-spatial processing not observed in non-NVLD children. At the neurological level, findings provide preliminary evidence of associations between the cognitive profile of NVLD and abnormalities in white matters tracts. The present study documents that exists, within this large non-selected sample, a proportion of youth who show evidence of NVLD. Given those results, it appears essential to establish the best diagnostic criteria, to improve the treatment options and quality of life for children with this disorder.

Motor and cognitive skills implicated in the Motor Observation Questionnaire for Teachers (MOQ-T): A multidisciplinary approach

This study was designed to determine the relationship between an observational measure of motor skills for teachers (i.e., MOQ-T), age, and some objectively assessed cognitive and motor indices. Two further goals were to examine which motor and cognitive factors predicted MOQ-T scores and to explore whether pupils with very low motor skills identified through MOQ-T also exhibited lower scores on objectively assessed motor and visuo-spatial tasks. A sample of 156 pupils aged 8.4 years-11.3 years and attending Italian primary school completed a battery of tests assessing writing speed, visuo-spatial abstract reasoning, fluency, and static balance abilities objectively assessed by measuring postural sway. Small to medium associations were found between MOQ-T scores and age, motor, and cognitive parameters, respectively. Moreover, approximately 26% of the variance in MOQ-T was predicted by sway area in the eyes-open condition, visuo-spatial fluency, and writing speed. Finally, pupils at risk of developmental coordination disorder exhibited poorer writing speed, and motor and higher-order visuo-spatial deficits. In conclusion, the synergistic use of objective measures of motor and cognitive functioning and observational screening questionnaires such as MOQ-T should be encouraged at school to identify pupils at risk of developmental coordination disorder.

Motor and Visual-spatial Cognitive Abilities in Children Treated for Infantile Esotropia

While many studies have investigated links between motor and visual spatial cognitive abilities in typically developing children, only a few studies have tested this link among children with innate handicaps. Therefore, we assessed motor abilities (using the M-ABC-2) and visual spatial cognitive skills (using the Block Design subtest of the WPPSI-III and a picture mental rotation task, PRT) of 5-7 year old typically developing children (n= 17) and same-aged children with severe deficits in stereopsis due to infantile esotropia (n= 17). Compared to the typically developing children, children with esotropia showed significantly poorer motor performances, especially in manual dexterity and ball skills, and significantly poorer and slower performance on the visual spatial cognitive tasks. Especially the girls treated for infantile esotropia needed more time to mentally rotate the pictures of the PRT correctly. Overall, this study showed that perceptual, motor and cognitive processes are interconnected and that children treated for infantile esotropia had an increased risk of motor and visual spatial cognitive deficits.

Motor Competence in Children With and Without Ambliopia

The purpose of this study was to assess the motor competence of children with and without amblyopia. Study participants were 165 primary school children, aged 6-9 years, divided into three groups based on their visual acuity with the Snellen chart: (a) non-amblyopia, (b) corrected amblyopia, and (c) non-corrected amblyopia. We assessed the children's motor competence with the Motor Competence Assessment battery (MCA) and their physical activity with the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Children (PAQ-C). The non-amblyopia group presented significantly better motor competence on the MCA than either the corrected amblyopia group or the non-corrected amblyopia group; there were no statistically significant motor differences between the two amblyopia subgroups. Amblyopia versus non-amblyopia differences on the MCA were mainly in stability and locomotor components, involving dynamic balance and the change of spatial position and direction of movement, but not in the manipulative component (ball throwing velocity and ball kicking velocity). Predictably, from within an integrated visual motor perspective of child development, our findings suggest that intact vision played an important role in children's motor competence. The development of fundamental motor skills, especially of stability and locomotor skills, may be affected by poor visual processing in that participants with uncorrected amblyopia showed poor movement accuracy, uncoordinated movement, and impaired balance.

The contribution of motor functions to academic achievement in primary school: State of the art and future directions

This review is intended to point out the role played by motor skills proficiency in the academic achievement of typically and atypically developing pupils who are attending primary school. First, the interplay between motor and cognitive development will be presented. Next, the cognitive phenotype, not yet deeply investigated, of a neurodevelopmental condition associated with the atypical development of motor functions (known as Developmental Coordination Disorder) will be illustrated. Thus, the contribution of motor functions to academic learning and the impact of motor difficulties for pupils attending primary school will be discussed. In addition, the importance of developing observational tools to be used in educational settings and the need for effective interventions designed to empower motor functioning and academic achievement of atypically developing pupils with motor deficits will be highlighted. Finally, future directions within the educational agencies for the early detection of the atypically developing motor trajectories and their treatment will be traced.